The Division Bell
by Sarcastrow
Summary: A globe spanning adventure that takes Katie Bell and Adrian Pucey from Hogsmeade to the Salisbury plain, Whales, and beyond. Katie is in a life she never anticipated, and Adrian is her partner. Aberforth Dumbledore has some advice for her, Pansy presents a challenge, and Charlie Weasley has a dragon problem. Written for the 2111 Porninthesun fest at Lj. I've toned it down.
1. Chapter 1 Poles Apart

The Division Bell

Chapter 1

Poles Apart

_Beyond the horizon of the place we lived when we were young_

_In a world of magnets and miracles_

_Our thoughts strayed constantly and without boundary_

_The ringing of The Division Bell had begun_

"You're a fuggin' whore," said a voice in a drunken slur.

Katie shook her head and smirked. She knew that voice; everybody who frequented the Hog's Head did. Her left hand set her glass of Firewhisky on the dingy table while her right, hidden under the table, slid her wand from her pocket and up her sleeve. "I've never been paid for it," she said, looking up and smiling in Pansy Parkinson's face. "Unlike you, I'm given to understand."

Parkinson made a move for her wand but Katie, member of Dumbledore's Army, hero of the battle of Hogwarts, and member of Kingsley's hand-chosen special investigations and infiltration team, levelled her with a _stupefy_ without even rising from her chair.

"So, what do you want to do with her?" said another voice from over her shoulder. Katie knew that one well too.

She drained her glass. "I don't know, Ab. Attempted assault on a member of MLE is a crime, but I don't feel like hauling her in at this time of night."

"Good," said Aberforth, and he hefted the barely-conscious woman from the floor. "I'll just take her up and put her to bed." The huge man carried the little brunette with ease as he lumbered up the stairs.

Katie looked around the bar at her companions. No one was paying her any attention. Duels were not uncommon in the Hog's Head, and most of the patrons were nearly unconscious themselves. This wasn't the life she had planned before the battle. That life was Quidditch, and marriage, and children. This life was danger, and lies, and somewhat lonely. She didn't have many male companions, but she didn't want many, she wanted a certain male's company. That was a problem for another day, though. The sound of tromping preceded Aberforth's reappearance.

"She all tucked in?"

"Yeah, poor girl." He sat at the table with her. "You puttin' Lucius Malfoy in prison last month drove her a bit over the edge; well, farther over the edge. She's been drunk pretty much since the wedding announcement."

"What wedding announcement?"

"Malfoy and the Greengrass girl."

"Oh, that," she huffed. "She's still carrying that torch?"

"Yes," he said sadly. "Listen, Katie, the younger Malfoy played on her affections and used her as his sex toy for eight years. He let his father fuck her whenever he wanted, and then he threw her away like a used tissue when the opportunity to marry into the Greengrass family came along. If it wasn't for Narcissa Black, she'd probably have killed herself."

"Narcissa's…" –she shook her head- "Wow, so different from before the war."

"Not really." Aberforth smiled at her questioning look. "She was never a true believer. When it came out during the trials how she saved Potter," -he paused- "and Lovegood," he added, and shrugged, "Well, the other side took a pretty dim view of her."

"She certainly helped in the arrest and conviction of her ex-husband."

"I bet a lot of that is because of Pansy," the old man said. "Pansy tells me that she and Narcissa had planned her and Draco's wedding for years, and then those last few, when the two men were passing her back and forth, well they grew to hate the older one and pity the younger."

"I hope when she divorced that fucking pig she took him for everything he had."

Aberforth smiled and nodded. "I'm pretty sure she did." He laughed. "Yeah, she tried to help Pansy, but… well, I've had more experience with this kind of thing."

"Okay, I'll forgive her then." She looked at him sternly. "Make sure she knows how lucky she is."

"I will," he said, and smiled at her. "When she wakes up in the morning I'll pour some coffee in her and tell her what happened." He looked across the table at Katie and shook his head. "She won't remember."

Katie smirked. "She's up in your bed, huh. Tell me you're not taking advantage of the situation."

The roar of laughter made the other patrons look up at them. "Oh, Katie, I've been with Pomona for close to twenty years now. No, I like my naughty bits right where they are, thank you." He chuckled again. "So, I didn't ask earlier. What brings you back to Hogsmeade?"

"Mission."

"And that would be?"

"Come on, Ab, you know I can't say anything."

"Unless you think I know something, then you chat up a storm."

"Sorry, part of the job." She looked at him and shrugged her shoulders. "Besides, I'm meeting Adrian and our contact here tomorrow. Don't even know what the assignment is yet."

He looked at her with a more serious expression. "You should be flying for the Harpies like Ginny Weasley, not chasing arseholes for Kingsley."

"None of us are doing what we thought we would be, Ab, what we wanted to," she said softly with a faraway look in her eyes.

He nodded at the pretty, black-haired woman. Many of his young friends wore the world-weary look he saw on her. This particular young friend was one of his favourites, and he needed to dispense some elderly advice. "You need to find a man, Katie Bell."

She looked up at him through her eyebrows. "Careful, Ab, you're treading on dangerous ground."

Unfazed, he continued, "You need a mate, and more than the friend kind. He needs to be that too, but you need someone to share that weight I see you bearing." He nodded his head toward the stairs. "You don't want to end up like Pansy." At her look he smirked. "I know, you wouldn't become a hopeless drunk like she's done, but you could end up just as alone, and that would be a sad end."

"Well, the one I want isn't interested."

"Still mooning over Wood, are you?" he said shaking his head.

"Stop now, Ab." Her look was ice cold.

He nodded again. "All right, but remember what I said." He rose from the chair and picked up her empty glass. "I'll just get you another"-he laughed- "on the house."

(###)

Miles and a universe away, Oliver Wood, the object of Katie's longing, lay on sweat-soaked sheets. He tossed; he turned; but as it had for almost every night the last seven years, sleep eluded him.

"Ced," he said, and his hand slid up and down slowly, remembering.

"Come on, Oliver," said Cedric breathlessly over his shoulder, with his hands braced against the shower wall. The water cascaded over both of them. "Take me, please, Oliver, I want you in me."

"Oh, god, Ced. I love you." He pushed into Cedric's welcoming heat. "I love you so much."

His lover sagged in pleasure as he slowly filled him. Cedric's face pressed against the tiles of the changing room shower, his tongue lolled out, and he pinched it between his lips and teeth. Oliver slid his hand around Cedric's thin waist and grasped

"All the way, all the way, Oliver, please," said Cedric wantonly.

Oliver braced his left hand on the wall and slowly but firmly rocked his hips forward

"Ohu, hu, hu, hu." The inarticulate gasps that Cedric made as he pumped back and forth were Oliver's favourite sounds in the world.

"My loyal Hufflepuff," said Oliver, and he kissed the back of Cedric's head.

"My noble, ah, ah, Gryffindor," Cedric panted.

The pace increased and soon they were panting together, clutching at each other, grinding themselves together in a building passion. Oliver jerked Cedric in time with his thrusts, and Cedric flexed sympathy. It brought them quickly to the point where Cedric cried out, and Oliver felt his lover's pulsing and It was all too much. He came, shouting and crying.

Warmth splattered his chest and face, and Oliver wept on the cold bed.

(###)

"Wake up, Bell."

That voice she knew all too well, but still Katie shot awake and grabbed her wand from the bedside table in an instant.

"You want to die, don't you, Adrian? You should know better than to barge into my room."

"You know you're a bitch in the morning?"

"Fuck you!" A picture frame flew from the wall at his head. He deflected it and it smashed against the floor.

"As I've said a great many times, I'd love to."

"Kiss my arse!" A blast of red shot from her wand and splashed against his shield charm.

"All right, sure. _Expelliarmus_!" Her wand flew to his hand.

"Give me my fucking wand back or you will regret it."

He chuckled. "Of that I have no doubt, but this is going to be worth it." He waved his wand at the bed covers and they flew off the bed to the floor. Katie was naked and furious.

"Give me my wand back, you fuck!" she shouted.

He leaned against the door of her room for the night at the Three Broomsticks and laughed. "You need a good shag so bad. We've all talked, you know, and as I'm the stupid one who cares about you, it fell to me."

"I. Am. Going. To. Fucking. Kill. You." She said low and quiet, and then she threw the bedside lamp at him and leapt toward him.

"_Immobilus_!" He caught her in mid flight and set her gently back on the bed. "_Finite_!"

She jumped back off the bed and paced a few feet from him. "What do you want?" she spat.

"You Gryffindors," he said, with no small amount of exasperation. "You're either selfless martyrs like Potter and his friends, or you're arrogant arseholes like McLaggen."

"You're an arrogant arsehole!" she yelled.

He smiled. "Ah, yes, but I'm a Slytherin. It's expected."

"Fuck you."

"Oh, I intend to. This unrequited love bullshit's getting very old, Katie, my dear. I'm done fucking around. You like me, we work well together, and in a few unguarded moments I've seen you actually look at me, really look at me. And,"-he raised a finger- "I know that fighting turns you on something fierce." He sniffed the air and smiled broadly. "Like right now for instance. Yeah, deny it."

"FUCK YOU!" she screamed, and leapt at him again. He caught her and they smashed completely through the door to land on the floor of the hallway. As she scrambled over him to try to wrestle her wand back, he started kissing her, her neck, her chin, her cheek, her mouth. Then he stroked his free hand along her waist and over a nipple, and she froze as her pussy caught fire and drenched his thigh.

Adrian rolled her over and pinned her to the floor as the door across the hall opened. "What the bloody fuck is going on?" a man said.

"I'm hoping there won't be too much blood, sir," Adrian said, and Apparated them.

They snapped back into reality a few miles away. She heard him cast the dissolution charm, and he Apparated them again. This time they landed on neatly mowed grass. He cast the warming charm and then she felt something silky wrap around her wrists. He started kissing his way down her body as he tossed their wands a few feet away. With his other hand he held hers bound just above her head. She couldn't help herself; she was writhing in very obvious lust under him.

"Oh fuck, Adrian, you prick. I want to fuck you and kill you at the same time," she said, and then bit his shoulder and whimpered. He had just slid his finger through her hot, slick centre.

"Well, then fuck me to death, baby, but keep it quiet. There're probably children present."

"What? Where are we?" she said in a husky, half angry, half amused voice.

"I've paid attention, love." He licked her left nipple, sending shockwaves through her. "When you talked about what you like while we were on that stake out, I listened. You like it outside,"-he licked her other nipple, eliciting another moan- "you like a little bondage,"-he pushed her hands down and kissed her forcefully- "and you like it public. We're at Stonehenge."

She heard the murmur of people shuffling a few yards away for the first time. Rolling her head to the side, Katie saw a procession of people walking on a gravel path. She and Adrian were lying inside the menhirs next to the altar stone. He took the opportunity while she was distracted to slide down her body and he brought her hands down on her stomach. He kissed along a path from her navel to the neatly trimmed patch of curls surrounding her pussy. With two fingers, he spread her folds and then swirled his tongue from her opening to her clit.

"Oh fuck!" She shouted, and then giggled quietly to herself. She looked back at the Muggles and a few people were peering around looking puzzled. He was right, she did need this, but she would make him pay, oh, how he would pay. But right now… "Lick me, Adrian. Fucking lick me!" she whispered. She felt him smile against her, and then he sucked her clit, tongued it lightly, and she forgot everything. Adrian obviously had done this before, and a lot. He was sweeping her towards an orgasm she hadn't had in a long time.

And then she was there.

Her hips bucked against his face and her bound hands tangled in his hair. A stifled keen escaped her, floating through the stones, and a young girl screamed from the pathway.

"Mummy, I heard a banshee!"

"It was just the wind, dear," an older voice said.

Adrian was giggling madly, and that sent another orgasm shuddering through her. She had to have him. "Fuck me, now!" she half whispered, half shouted. It was then she realized she couldn't see him. She heard a shuffling and felt his clothes drop next to her. "No, wait. Let's fuck on the altar stone, very pagan."

"You are brilliant!" Adrian whispered, amused.

She felt his hand on hers helping her up. They stood in the centre of the stones. Hundreds of people were parading by, blissfully unaware of the woman laying herself on the altar stone and the man slowly rubbing himself up and down her wet folds until he slid inside her in a single thrust. Another keen floated through the circle and the little girl jammed her hands over her ears. The stone was smooth and cold on her back, and his breath, hot and scented with mint, puffed across her breasts and face. She became aware that the wet, slapping sound of active sex was also drifting out of the centre of the circle.

She started to giggle again and that triggered a massive orgasm. "Ooooohh, AIIIIEEEE!" she partly sighed and partly screamed. Adrian stood, pulled her up, turned her to face the stone, bent her over, and took her in another swift stroke. She smiled, squeezed her muscles around him, and was rewarded with a groan. The pace of his thrusts increased and she braced her hands against the stone. People were looking all around, trying to find the source of the sounds floating through the air. A park guard hurried along the path looking right and left.

"Oh, fuck, Katie," Adrian said. "You're so hot, and tight, and wet. I've wanted this for so long."

She smiled and squeezed him in time with his thrusts, and he sagged down on her back, bracing one hand on the rock and grasping her left breast with the other. He plunged into her and withdrew only to fill her again and again. She felt a third orgasm coming.

"Adrian, Adrian, hold on for just a moment," she said, and stood. "Just a second." She slid from him, unwound the silk ropes from her wrists, and trotted over to where their wands lay on the grass. If anyone had been looking they would have seen two sticks float up into the air, float over to the altar stone and come to rest side by side on it. "Lay back," she instructed.

She felt along his invisible leg and found him. It was more than fine, she could tell from just the feel. Placing her knees on either side of his waist she lowered herself down on him and began to ride at a gallop.

"Oh, Adrian, I'm going to come again," she said after a few moments, "come with me, come with me," she panted, almost like a mantra.

"Almost," he whispered. "Almost… AAAAHHH, FUCK YES!" he shouted, and she felt him. That set off her own orgasm.

Katie grabbed their wands and dispelled the dissolution charm as she too came. It took several seconds before the murmur turned to a few shouts of outrage and surprise. She grinned down at the smiling man under her, summoned his clothes from the ground, and Apparated them.


	2. Chapter 2 What do you Want From Me?

The Division Bell

Chapter 2

What do you Want From Me?

_You can lose yourself this night  
See inside there is nothing to hide  
Turn and face the light_

_What do you want from me_

Katie's Apparition was about two feet higher than it should have been when they popped into reality in her room at The Three Broomsticks. They fell to the mattress, and the centre of the bed collapsed under them.

The door across the hall flew open, and the man stepped out into the hall. "Ah, you're back!" he shouted.

"_Reparo! Colloportus!" _Katie shouted back, while flicking her wand at the door fragments. The door reassembled itself and slammed shut in the man's face. "On your feet, Pucey," she said, and pulled him from the wrecked bed. Surveying the damaged bed she thought, _Well, Slytherin boy, I said you'd pay, and pay you will. _She grinned. _ You'll like it, though._ "Here." A robe she pulled from the closet was thrust into his arms. "I need to wash the grass off my arse,"-she threw a robe around herself-"and I need your help with that."

Katie pulled open the door, and the man from across the hall was still standing there, dumbfounded. "Excuse me," she said as she pushed past. "Come on, Adrian." He was suddenly being pulled through the door by his hand. Adrian gave the man a "what are you going to do" grin, and followed her down the hall to the bathroom.

Once inside the bathroom, he found himself pinned against the door. "This genie is out of the bottle, Pucey," Katie said, and kissed him hard. "And she's very horny." With a flick of her wand the shower spun on and their robes vanished. He almost tripped as she spun him from the door and shoved him into the shower. A few small scrapes from lying on a rock while a mad woman fucked him brought themselves to his attention. "What?" she asked when he sniggered.

"Just a scratch or two, nothing I wouldn't gladly take again." He pulled a flannel from the rack next to the shower. "Turn around." He lathered the cloth and gently scrubbed the grass and dirt from her back.

"Hmm, nice," she said. Katie leaned back against him, and he brought the cloth around to wash her stomach and then her breasts. "Your turn." She turned in his arms and took the cloth from him. "I do like your chest, Adrian. Have I told you that?" she asked as she rubbed him.

"Uh, no." He was having a little trouble talking. Katie was a beautiful vision. Her hair was flattened and coal black from the water. Droplets were running down her chest, between her tits, and dripping off her nipples. Those same tits were brushing his chest, distracting the hell out of him. Then she started to wash him and all he could think about was that. "Oh god, Katie."

Her grin was feral as she felt him stiffen in her hand. "Excellent, nice recovery time." She stepped back, rinsed him, knelt, grasped both his knees for support, and took him.

"So beautiful," he said in a whisper, like a prayer. His knees quivered and he leaned against the shower wall. Then she took him as far as she could. He was happy that she was able to fit around him. He wasn't the longest man on earth but he did have good bit of girth. Her fingers ran across him and quivered. "So good. You're going to make me come again."

Her smirk returned when she stood. "Not yet, Adrian." She turned and braced her hands on the wall. "Fuck me."

(###)

Katie looked down at the sun glinting off the sweat on Adrian's chest. She was vaguely aware of the traffic noise drifting up from the street below, but what she was most aware of was Adrian's cock. _I could get used to this,_ she thought as his thickness was bringing her to another intense orgasm. He was lying on his back, and she was riding him for all she was worth. Her knees were being rubbed raw by the concrete, but that was a short healing charm from being a memory. The better memory was going to be the sex they were having atop Marble Arch. The people in the traffic circle were completely unaware of the couple busily fucking away on top of the monument.

"Oh fuck!" She yelled as she came again. Adrian sat up and rolled them over.

"My turn," he said, and buried himself in her. "Merlin, love, you'll be the death of me." The grin she had on her face was part humour, part triumphant, and she ground her hips against him.

He looked down at her and was entranced. She had fading tan lines around her tits and there was the faint outline of a bikini bottom where they joined. He was hardly aware of the traffic noise because the sounds that she was making were all he could think about. Adrian had discovered that she made a high squeaking sound from deep in her throat when she was close to coming. He reached between them, rubbed her clit with his thumb, and was rewarded with the beginnings of the squeak. He doubled his pace with both hands and hips, and then she was there.

For the fifth time that morning Adrian was watching Katie come. One hand was on her breasts, kneading them and stroking her nipples with his thumb. "Gods, you're beautiful when you fuck me," he said breathlessly.

"I'm beautiful all of the time," she smiled and ground her hips into him. "I'm a goddess when I fuck you." He laughed and stroked her harder. "Oh fuck, Adrian," she said, and shuddered. "I'm still coming."

"Uh huh, me too. Yes, yes, right there. Yessss!"

Katie rocked her hips a few more times. "Ooo, that was very good, Adrian." He dropped down and braced his hands on either side of her. "Hmm, do you hear those sirens?"

"There are always sirens in central London," he answered, and she grabbed an arse cheek in each hand. "Fuck, Katie," -he ground his hips against hers- "I've wanted this for a long time. You have no idea." He rolled them back over so she could lie on his chest.

With a chuckle and a smirk she said, "Yes, I do." The almost nonstop shagging in the last three hours had done wonders for her mood. She kissed him and tucked her head under his chin. "I'm sorry, Adrian. I know… well I didn't lead you on, but that's because you're right. I like you, but… I…"

"Am still in love with Oliver Wood," he said flatly without anger.

"I am such an idiot."

She could feel him smiling. "No, you're not. You're a woman still in love with the first man to make love to her. A lot of women hold on to that, but it hardly ever works out." He barked out a laugh. "Really didn't work out for you." Adrian pushed her up off his chest so he could look her in the eyes. "Katie, he's gay. It's not your fault, it's not his fault. It simply is. Yes, he should have been straight,"-he laughed and rolled his eyes- "_honest_ with you from the start, but he probably hadn't figured it out himself."

"I know that in my head," she said, looking down and really accepting it for the first time. She looked back into his eyes and said, "But my heart… well, it's fought back for a while now."

Adrian cupped her cheek. "How's it feeling about me just now?" he said, low and honestly.

His lips called to her. Katie hadn't felt this way in a long time, and it felt very good. He had been her partner for three years and they had had their fair share of adventures together. He had saved her life a few times, and she had returned the favour on more than one occasion. They knew each other extremely well, right down to how they took their tea. Yes, she had noticed him, more than noticed him, but her damn infatuation, _that's what it is! Fucking infatuation!_ kept getting in her way. _Well, you win, Adrian._

She leaned down to him and kissed him slowly and passionately. "It's liking you just now; it's liking you a lot." His arms enveloped her and he kissed her back with the same amount of fire.

From two and a half miles away they heard the chiming of the clock tower melody, and then Big Ben started tolling the hours. _The Division Bell_ Katie thought. _The separation of past from future._ She kissed the dark-haired man still filling her. _Thank you, Adrian. _She smiled. _You arsehole._

The sirens were getting decidedly louder when they broke apart. Katie drew a finger down his chest. "I think we've been seen." The sirens stopped very nearby.

"How?"

"Well the top floor of that block over there can see the top of the arch. We see them, they see us, you know."

"Yes, I realize that, but we're a quarter mile away."

"You ever hear of an invention called the telescope?" she asked.

"Smart arse."

She smiled and traced a pattern on his chest. "Well, this has been a fun morning, but I think if we don't leave soon we'll have company." She picked up their wands and handed his to him. "Back to the Broomsticks, ready?"

(###)

The maintenance man who'd been pulled from Hyde Park to come look at the top of Marble Arch was not a happy man. The stairway up the arch was old, smelly and dangerous. He'd told them they were crazy. No one would be up here shagging, it was impossible, but the police had insisted. They said the caller on the phone was watching two people from her balcony, and they were having very public sex on the top of the arch. He climbed the ladder that stretched the last ten feet to the monument's roof, opened the hatch at the top, and poked his head through. For the briefest of moments he could have sworn there had been a naked couple grinning back at him. There was a loud snap, and he was alone.

(###)

"So, in all the fuss this morning you didn't tell me what the assignment is and why we're in Hogsmeade," Katie said. Adrian watched her plait her hair; it was one of the sexiest things she did, and he never tired of watching it.

"A representative of the Welsh Dragon Reserve wants to talk to someone in special investigations. Kingsley didn't want any of the Aurors on this, I don't know why."

She walked across the room and sat on his lap. Her fingers slid through his hair, she tilted his face up and kissed him. "Hmm, last one till we're off duty." She looked at him seriously. "All business on the job, Adrian. That's the deal if we're going to do this."

"Of course." He kissed her one more time, helped her to her feet, and stood himself. "We're supposed to meet him in the Hog's Head at one. We've got an hour and a half."

"Good, I could use something to eat." She looked at him and slapped his arm. "For _some_ reason, I'm really hungry."

He smiled. "Let's eat, I'll buy."

"I'll let you."

(###)

Adrian pulled her chair out from the battered, stained table. "Aberforth should invest in some new furniture," he said as they sat. "Food would be a good idea too. The cook at the Broomsticks seems to be losing his touch."

"Yeah, I suppose, but this place has its charm."

His eyebrows rose and he looked around. "Really? Where?"

They were still giggling when Pansy walked up to their table. "What can I get you? Oh."

Katie smiled at her. "Good morning, Parkinson. Feeling better?"

"Yeah, Ab says I need to thank you."

"You probably should, Pansy," said Adrian. Katie had told him the whole story.

"Hello, Adrian, good to see you again," Pansy said, and turned back to Katie. "Thank you, Bell. I won't try to pull my wand on you again."

"No problem, Pansy." Katie laid her hand atop the other witches. "I understand." Their eyes met and the wounded Slytherin saw compassion in the eyes of the Gryffindor. "I really do."

Pansy nodded. "What can I get you?"

"Two of those root beers Ab makes," Katie said with a smile. "You should try taking that up yourself."

She snorted. "Probably. I'll be right back with your drinks."

As Pansy walked away Katie leaned in to whisper, "I've got an idea, Adrian. I want to cast _Alcoholus Emectus_ on her, but I want to do it as a dual charm. She won't be able to undo it if we cast together."

"You sure you were sorted into the right house?" he asked with that smug grin of his.

"It's a noble thing for a good purpose, not a prank for a laugh. Yes, I'm sure."

He nodded and then shook his head. "Gryffindor. All right, as she leaves."

Pansy returned with two pints of Aberforth's famous gingered root beer. When she finished setting the glasses on the table and turned to walk back to the bar, Adrian looked at Katie. "Okay, now." His right and her left hand came up from under the table. Both of their wands were clutched between them. _"Alcoholus Emectus!" _they whispered in unison. Pansy jerked and looked around, but by the time she was looking at them they had their glasses in their hands and were chatting merrily.

"She's going to be really angry about that," he said.

"I'll give her two months and then we'll undo it."

Adrian nodded. "You sure you weren't sorted into the wrong house?"

"Fuck you."

He slumped, feigning exhaustion. "Later, baby, later."

They had been chatting for about ten minutes when the bell over the door chimed. Katie looked up and uncharacteristically gasped. A massive redheaded man stood in the doorway framed by the blinding sunlight. He wasn't as tall as Aberforth but he was just as muscled. The man brushed his long hair from his face, and as his eyes adjusted to the dim pub they found the man behind the bar.

"Ab!" he yelled, and crossed the room in a few strides, and Aberforth stepped from behind the bar to exchange hugs with the man.

Katie smiled. The blows they were administering to each other's backs would have knocked the breath out of her, and maybe broken a rib.

"Charlie," Aberforth said, and hugged him again. "What brings you up from Wales?"

"Meeting with some old friends, how's business?"

"Can't complain, but I still do." He laughed. "What do you want?"

"Beer and a whiskey." He looked around and spotted Katie and Adrian. "I'll be with my friends."

Charlie Weasley walked over to their table. "Hello, Katie. It's been too long, and Adrian Pucey, glad one of you turned out okay." He held out his hand. "Good to see you again."

Adrian took his hand. "Oh, more than one of us turned out not to be an evil piece of shit." He grinned at the larger man. "Good to see you again, Charlie." Adrian looked him up and down. The dragon keepers were a very odd lot. All of them were tattooed, all of them had very evident burns, scrapes, and scars from their charges, all of them were strong as a troll, and all of them were obnoxiously happy. "Kingsley says you have a mystery that needs solving."

"Yeah, we do, but there's some things we need to know before we bring you in, and a few you need to know before you take the job." He took his drinks from Pansy. "Thanks," he said to her, and slapped her on the bum.

Pansy smiled at him and patted his cheek. "Keep your hands to yourself, Weasley." She looked at his companions. "Keep an eye on this one, Bell."

Katie smiled at Pansy. "Oh, I know all about Weasleys, had two of them in my year."

Adrian watched Charlie observe the banter between the two women, and he was intrigued. The dragon keepers were, with the exception of the Unspeakables in the department of mysteries, the most secretive of the ministry's employees about their work. "What do you need to know?" he asked.

"Well the first is whether you've ever been around a dragon before? I mean, other than at the first task of the Triwizard tournament."

They both shook their heads. "All right," said Charlie. "That actually makes our job a little easier. We get to shape those first interactions." He rubbed his chin, and said mostly to himself, "Yeah, that's really good." He looked up at Katie. "Where are you in your cycle?"

She was stunned for a moment. "Kind of in the middle, why?"

"It becomes an issue, you'll see." He looked at them and his jovial demeanour fell away. Suddenly, the man before them was a physically imposing, very powerful wizard. Looking at them intensely, he asked, "Have either of you ever, in your life, eaten dragon meat or eggs?"

Katie searched her memory. It'd been offered but she wasn't a fan of the smell, so she hadn't tried it. "No, I'm pretty sure I've never tasted it."

"You need to be certain," the burly redhead said.

"I am."

"And you?" he asked Adrian.

"Slytherins don't eat dragon unless it's ceremonial. I haven't ever been invited to that kind of party."

Charlie smiled grimly at him, and said, "Good, because they will know."

Adrian and Katie shared a look between them. Kingsley had told them a few weeks earlier that they were his most prized team, and that he counted on them to be his right hand in the most delicate of situations. Adrian nodded and she nodded back, they were in the middle of one of those situations right now. Kingsley also had an odd sense of humour. Not telling them anything about this mission was probably causing great waves of his basso profundo laugh to bounce around his office.

Charlie looked at them both. "We have a problem. Several eggs have gone missing in the last three months. It's pissing us off, and it's making the dragons furious. One of the things that most people don't know is how smart dragons are. They can count, at least to twenty, and when they notice a missing egg the females go into a rage."

"And you want us to find out who's stealing the eggs," Adrian said. "Sounds like a job for the Aurors, not us."

Charlie smiled at him. "They aren't as good at keeping secrets as you folks in special investigations." He looked at him with that dead serious expression, and Adrian saw that the jovial man was just a part of this complex individual. He decided right then that Charlie Weasley was not a man to be fooled with. "We like our secrets… secret," Charlie said. He smiled and looked around the dingy pub. "That's why we're here and not at the ministry, much more secure." He chuckled once and became serious again. "Kingsley has given you to us for the next three months at least, but before you even get to see what we're up against, before you come to us tomorrow, before you can know the Kind, there's one major condition you have to agree to."

"And that would be?" asked Katie.

"You swear to keep our secrets to yourself. You take the tattoo, and you become a Dragon Friend."

Katie was nodding. She knew what the answer to her next question would be. "And we do that how?"

Charlie looked at them. "Well, among other things, by making an unbreakable vow."


	3. Chapter 3 The Dragon Friends

The Division Bell

Chapter 3

The Dragon Friends.

_Her love rains down on me easy as the breeze_

_I listen to her breathing it sounds like the waves on the sea_

_I was thinking all about her, burning with rage and desire_

_We were spinning into darkness; the earth was on fire_

The compound that housed the humans was nestled in a small dale that lay off a much larger valley in the Welsh hills. That larger valley was populated with dragons, and Katie could see several dozen. Some were perched on rocky outcroppings, some were nestled in crags, and some were in flight. There seemed to be natural territorial boundaries that the various species respected. The Welsh Greens were gathered at the north end, two Swedish Short Snouts, _a mated pair, _Katie thought, were curled together in a dale not far away, a few other species Katie couldn't recognize were dimly visible in the mist, and directly in front of them stood a huge, male Hungarian Horn Tail.

The first stunning surprise of the day happened immediately after Katie and Adrian had portkeyed onto the designated landing spot. A very beautiful, extremely fit, and of course heavily tattooed woman had met them with a dragon calmly walking along beside her. "Bell? Pucey?" she asked.

Adrian had stood and gawked at the dragon, while Katie haltingly said, "Yeah?"

"My name's Edgecomb, Alice Edgecomb." She made the kissing sound and the dragon lowered its head. "This is Atlas," she said, and scratched him behind the front set of horns. "Come on," she said commandingly. "Get up here, show no fear, and do what I'm doing."

Katie's eyes could not get any wider. Was she serious? This thing was ten feet at the shoulder, and made of pure muscles, bones, sharp teeth, and spiny plates. It had to weigh five tons at least. She shook her head and marshalled her Gryffindor courage. Slowly but calmly, she walked to the dragon keeper's side.

"That's it," said Alice. "Now, right here behind these horn protrusions." As Katie dipped her hand behind the plates she found a velvety soft skin. "A nice firm scratch," Alice continued, "Don't be afraid, he likes it."

Katie had a large dog as a child, and she gave the dragon the same kind of fingernail scrub that her dog loved. The dragon responded with something that sounded like a cross between a cat purring and a locomotive. He also pushed her sideways with his head about four feet. Katie smiled back at her stunned partner.

"Very good, you're a natural." said Alice. "Get over here, Pucey, you both have to make contact or you can't come in."

"O- okay," Adrian said haltingly. "This is necessary?"

Alice laughed, and said, "If you're interested in being something besides a tasty snack, yes."

Adrian reluctantly approached the dragon. "Over here, Adrian," said Katie. "Right here next to me, reach in here, okay." She leaned into him and whispered in his ear, "Just like you did to my back in the shower this morning."

Adrian smiled at the memory and totally forgot to be terrified. He scratched the dragon with vigour and was rewarded with a loud purr and a head butt. "You are a big love bug, aren't you?" he asked the dragon. Atlas nudged him again and presented his neck for more scratching. "Yeah, okay," said Adrian, and he gave the dragon a good long scratch, until the animal's rear leg began to twitch.

"All right, you big slut," Alice said to the dragon. "Don't milk it." She turned back to Katie and Adrian. "You're being allowed in on the condition that you will follow the Code of the Friends. This is the first secret. We are not jailers. Come on."

"Edgecomb?" Katie said. "Are you related to Marietta?"

"She's my younger sister." Alice gave Katie an appraising look. "You were in the D.A.?"

"Yeah, listen, I'm sorry…"

Alice shook her head. "Don't be, she fucked up."

"Well, okay then."

"Granger came by after the war and dispelled the enchantment." Alice smiled. "Mari's doing well now, working for Ollivander, in fact." She pointed across the valley to her left. "Those are the Hebrideans."

Alice led them down a gravel path that snaked its way through the valley, Atlas slowly walking along beside them. "The Welshies colonized this valley before people came to Great Britton; they've been here ever since. When the International Dragon Confederation was setting up the International Dragon Reserve we were asked to supply some of them. We asked if we could have a representative sample of the other species in exchange, sort of like a genetic lifeboat in case something bad happens. The dragons agreed and so we have a second, smaller, multi species haven here."

"What do you mean, 'the dragons agreed?'" Adrian asked.

Alice stopped and turned to him. "Secret number two, dragons are smart, very smart."

She led them through the valley along the gravel path, stopping now and again to talk about the various dragons they were passing. When they arrived at the area the Horntails occupied, Atlas left them to cuddle with his mate.

"Ariadne is the one Harry Potter faced in the Triwizard Tournament," Alice told them. "She's still a little skittish around brooms so it's not a good idea to fly near here. Plus, there're some other things about her you'll learn."

"I wouldn't imagine flying anywhere in this valley is a good idea," Adrian quipped.

"Oh, no, not at all, they love to fly with us." Alice smiled. "You'll see." She laughed. "No, it's just Ariadne. She's… got a long memory. We got her and Atlas away from the Romanians after the tournament. Took a good, long time for her to trust us, to accept that we weren't like them."

Adrian looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Not everyone keeping dragons does it with love like we do," said Alice. "There're still a lot of people doing it the old way, like the Romanians, but we're convincing folks, slowly but surely, not to trade in dragon products that don't come from the Friends. Ollivander, for instance, has gone to whiskers instead of heartstrings for his wands. Works every bit as well, and they shed them twice a year."

Katie nodded. "As opposed to a heartstring, which I suppose they're somewhat attached to."

"Precisely. And since the treaty we have a black market in dragon products to deal with too, so it's a challenge."

They walked on. Katie was watching three adolescents, a Swedish Short Snout, a Fireball, and a Welsh Green frolicking in the big common field as they neared the keeper compound. "How long do they live?" she asked Alice.

"Quite a long time, you'll learn a lot in the next few weeks." She smiled wryly. "Maybe more than you bargained for. Here're your quarters." She pointed to a small cabin. "We were told you don't mind sharing a room. That's good, 'cause we don't run a hotel. Dinner's in an hour and a half. Don't be late or you'll be hungry." Alice looked at them seriously. "Atlas has marked you; you have his scent on you. You'll be welcome all along the path, but don't stray off it. After tonight you'll be able to go pretty much anywhere, but for now, don't leave the path." With that she strode away toward the large central building.

Adrian walked up the three steps to their cabin and opened the door. "Charming," he said in a deadpan voice. Katie looked over his shoulder.

"Well it's not nearly as bad as that room in Manchester," she said as she surveyed the sparse accommodations. The little building had a single room with two beds on either side, a table and two chairs, and a small set of cabinets with a table top burner and a kettle sitting on it. A door at the back let out onto a small porch. Through the window in the back door she could see a path led from there to a building that housed the loos and showers. "Better than the training camps," Katie said with her chin on his shoulder.

"No, not bad." He turned and pulled her into his arms. "And we have a cabin all to ourselves." He smiled, half wicked and half joyful. Katie pulled him into a kiss.]

(###)

The interior of the great common building was a thing of wonder. Intricate carvings were worked into the structure. The pillars that supported the roof were carved into founts of dragon fire, the benches and tables sported dragon motifs on their legs and sides, and the door lintels, window sills and sashes also featured the creatures. A fire burned in a hearth in the centre of the room, the smoke rose into a huge copper chimney reaching up through the roof. Tables with benches surrounded the hearth, and around the tables sat the dragon keepers. Katie looked across the room and saw Charlie Weasley emerging from a door at the back of the hall carrying a large cauldron. He set it on the table that held the rest of the evening's meal and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Katie took Adrian's hand and led him to the food table. "Good evening, Charlie," she said. "Didn't know you were the cook."

"I'm not," he said, and laughed. "They'd feed me to Moraga if I cooked every day." Smiling, he said, "We take it in turns, keeps everything fair. Today it's the Horntail friends. That's me, Alice, Mary, and Donald."

"Smells marvellous," said Adrian. "What is it?"

Charlie nodded. "Alice and Donald are quite the chefs." He looked at the cauldron. "This is their seafood stew. It's got Mussels, clams, shrimp, fish, tomatoes, some garlic, basil, a few other spices; oh, and some red pepper." He winked. "We like it hot," he sniggered. "And then they cook the whole mess in half fresh and half seawater." He chuckled again and patted Adrian on the back. "It's pretty fucking good." Pointing to a table with some unoccupied benches next to it he said, "You're with us, I'll be right back."

Adrian led Katie to the table and they sat side by side. The door to the kitchen area opened again, and the four Horntail friends emerged with baskets of breads. "Dinner!" Charlie called, and the rest of the dragon friends rose from their seats. As in any large common eating area, the noise level rose as everyone filed through the line, laying vegetables and fruits on their platters, and filling bowls with the steaming stew. Most took a roll or chunk of bread and laid it atop their bowl. As Adrian and Katie joined the line at the rear, another, older dragon keeper introduced himself.

"Alasdair Wilson," he said, and extended his hand to Adrian.

"Adrian Pucey, this is Katie Bell," he said, and slid sideways so that Katie could take the man's hand.

"Good to meet you, Alasdair. Who do you look after?" she asked. He smiled broadly. _These people love their jobs,_ she thought.

"I care for the Viperteeth." He motioned them to come closer. "Everybody thinks theirs are the most dangerous, but really it's the Teeth."

Adrian smiled. "Yeah, why's that then?"

And Alasdair was off. He told them, in great detail, about the dangers of befriending an animal that actually preferred the taste of people, that possessed incredibly venomous fangs, and that could mimic its surroundings better than all the rest. They learned that the Peruvian dragons were smaller than the average but, in his opinion, much more lethal than even the Hungarians.

"They lose a few hundred people a year to them in Peru and Bolivia. The South American administration wanted to exterminate them a few decades ago. They even tried a bit, but it turned out to be, um… more of a challenge than they thought." He laughed.

"Alasdair convinced you that the Teeth are the finest in the park yet?" Charlie asked with a smile as they came to the end of the line and picked up their bread. "Hi, Al."

"They do sound challenging at the least," said Adrian.

Katie looked at the older man. "We'll have to get to know the rest before we can give you our opinion, Alasdair."

"That's a fair cop," he said, and excused himself to join his fellow Teeth handlers.

"Everyone thinks theirs are the most dangerous," said Charlie as he led them to the Hungarian's table. "Really it's the Horntails, though." Katie and Adrian shared a look, each silently daring the other not to laugh. The stew was very good. Katie devoured hers in short order and rose to refill her bowl.

"Told you," said Charlie. "And you may want to skip a second pass."

She turned and looked at him. "Why's that?"

"Well, I did mention the ceremony."

"Yeah, and-?"

"You're going to get a tattoo; you really don't want to do that on a full stomach."

Katie sighed in disappointment. "Oh, all right," she said and sat back down. "It's so good, though."

Alice took Katie's bowl from in front of her. "I'll get you some and store it away for a midnight snack if you want." She was up and off to the food table before Katie could answer.

(###)

"Showtime," Charlie said, and he rose from the table. The bowls, platters, utensils, and napkins had been cleared and the dragon keepers were lounging, drinking beer, and telling tales. Katie marvelled a bit at the normalcy amongst the weird. It was just like any other pub, with the exception that everyone but she and Adrian were tattooed, and the large double doors had just been opened to allow a Welsh Green to squeeze into the room. _Other than that,_ she thought, _perfectly normal_.

"My fellow Dragon Friends," Charlie called out loudly. The room quieted. "We have two who would join us, two who would aid us in seeking out those who have violated the Kind, two who know the price, two who would be Friends. I will vouch for them; do I have a second?" All his fellow Hungarian friends rose from their seats, as did Alasdair and his fellow Vipertooth friends. Several others started to rise and Charlie called out again, "We have support for the befriending."

He turned to Adrian and Katie. "You have been told the first two secrets; will you swear to keep those and all others we show you and tell you secret as well? Will you make the vow?"

"Yes," they said in unison.

He nodded solemnly. "Our version of the unbreakable vow is far different from the one you are familiar with. Now for the first challenge; remove your clothes."

Katie looked at him with surprise written on her face, and many of the nearby Friends laughed. Alice looked at her, smiling. "Don't be shy, none of us are, and you're fine examples anyway."

Katie shrugged, looked at Adrian who was smirking madly, and undid the clasp of her robe. Adrian, she noticed, had no trouble getting naked in front of these people. He was out of his clothes in seconds; it was one of his many talents she was growing to appreciate. She blushed as she got down to the purple bra and knickers that she thought only Adrian was going to see that night.

"Lovely," said Mary, the other female Hungarian friend. "Where do you shop?"

"Agent Provocateur, it's a muggle establishment. The prices are good and the garments are exceptional," said Katie as she stepped out of her knickers.

"I wonder if you'd mind taking me and Alice some time, we have to keep these two entertained," said Mary, and she tilted her head toward Charlie and Donald.

"Sure, I didn't realize you were…"

Mary laughed. "We're not, you'll see."

"Come," said Charlie, and he led them by the hand to stand beside the huge Welsh Green dragon. "This is the Dilys Banon, her name is Asgre." He turned to the dragon, dropped his robe to the ground and was as naked as Katie and Adrian. Like all the Dragon Friends he was in incredible physical condition. He was a solid mass of muscles, his skin was tanned from long hours shirtless in the sun, and what skin wasn't tanned was tattooed. Katie smiled as she read the names of his family written down his left arm, and a small lump formed in her throat when she noticed Fred's name was surrounded by a halo. Then for the first time Katie saw his dragon tattoo completely. A stylized dragon lay curled on his back. As she watched it woke, reared, and spread its wings wide across Charlie's shoulders. "I stand before the Dilys Banon. I would have these join the friends. Will you allow this, or will you consume us in fire?" he asked the dragon, with his eyes closed and his arms spread wide.

Asgre drew a long sniff up Katie's body, and then she did the same with Adrian. The dragon reared back on its hind legs and inhaled deeply. Then she dropped down on all fours with her face feet from Adrian, Katie, and Charlie. A deafening roar nearly toppled the three humans but Katie stayed on her feet and didn't move. She looked to her side and saw Adrian had rocked back on his heels but was recovering. They were both shaking slightly, and then the dragon did something that Katie didn't know they could do: she laughed. That really _did_ sound like a locomotive.

"You pass the first test," Charlie said, and smiled. "You'd be surprised how many don't." He turned around and faced the assembled Dragon Friends. When Katie and Adrian turned they saw that everyone had removed their robes. The entire room was filled with naked people… and a dragon. All of the humans had a dragon tattooed on their back, and every one of them was unique. Most, like Charlie and Alice, had many more tattoos.

"Will the artists step forward," said Charlie. Two men and two women made their way to the front of the crowd and stood before Katie and Adrian. "Now the second test and the vow, face me and the Dilys Banon." Asgre lowered her head just as Atlas had done. A small burst of fire shot from her nostrils, and then her tongue flicked out and tapped Katie just above the navel.

"Ouch," she said softly. It felt like she'd been branded, which she had. A small, V shaped red mark shown where Asgre's tongue had touched her. "Not bad," she commented to Adrian.

Adrian made no sound when Asgre repeated the same process on him. The dragon stood up on her front legs, and roared again. "She approves," Charlie said, low, just for them, and then he said in a loud voice, "Lean upon the Dilys Banon and make your vow." Katie and Adrian placed both their hands on the knees of the dragon and the four artists stepped up behind them. "Do you swear to keep the secrets of the Dragon Friends, and to only reveal what the council allows?"

"Yes," they said. A searing pain started in the centre of her back and a few tears formed at the corners of her eyes. She ground her teeth and kept quiet.

The corner of Charlie's mouth twitched toward a smile. "Do you swear to never consume any part of your friends?"

"Yes," they said again. The pain spread across the whole of her upper back and started down. The tears fell but she still kept silent. Beside her she heard Adrian grunt but that was all. Her strong Slytherin was holding up well, and she smiled through the pain.

Charlie smiled back and said softly, "Will you swear to protect them, and to keep them in your heart as they keep you in theirs?"

"Yes." She whispered. The pain was nearly unbearable, and the warning Charlie had given her about a second pass at the stew now made sense as her stomach roiled. Her knees shook and she almost collapsed as her back felt like it was being pricked with a thousand needles and covered in hot coals, but then something cold and wonderful flowed over her burning skin. Katie looked up and saw a tear fall from Asgre's eye onto Adrian's back, and he too sagged in relief.

"Dragon Friends," Charlie shouted. "The vow is made! The bond is secured! Welcome the initiates!"

The crowd surged forward and Katie was suddenly being helped to a seat. The woman behind her was casting a healing charm on her back and another was doing the same to Adrian.

"That was shorter than I thought it would be," Katie said to the woman behind her. She heard the woman snigger and then say, "Oh, you're not nearly done yet."

"There's more?" Katie asked, a little alarmed.

"Yes, but the painful part's over." The woman's tone was mirthful and not what Katie expected. "Here, have a drink." A pint of beer was suddenly in her hand. She downed it in one go. "Feel better?"

She did. "Yes, loads."

"All right, stand up and receive us," Charlie said.

Adrian stood beside her, and the Dragon Friends queued in front of them, Charlie at their head. "Charlie Weasley, Horntail," he said, and shook each of their hands.

"Alice Edgecomb, Horntail."

"Enoch Brandywine, Hebridean. "

"Alasdair Wilson, Vipertooth. Welcome."

And so it continued, all forty four Dragon Friends introduced themselves. Katie noticed that all of them were indeed in prime physical condition, all of them bore a myriad of little burn scars, and all of them were invariably delighted to meet them. It was the most welcoming environment she had ever been in, and she understood their passion for their work and their coworkers. She even envied them a little. Clean white robes were brought forward for them, and the other Dragon Friends redressed themselves.

"Our initiates have made the vows and taken the marks. They are Dragon Friends!" Charlie called to the crowd. Their fellow Friends cheered, and a sound much like bass flute issued from Asgre. Katie looked up in surprise at the dragon, and suddenly she knew what Asgre was thinking. Adrian gasped by her side. _It is our call, our song,_ they felt from her. It wasn't like _Legilimency_ where the thoughts and words were precise, it was more a knowing. The words were human interpretations of the dragon's thoughts.

"The tattoos don't just bind you to the vow, that's only a small portion of their magic," said a woman who had introduced herself as Lisa Anne Jones, Welshie. "I am bound to the Welshies. Asgre's thoughts are very strong, aren't they?"

Katie nodded, her eyes never leaving the dragon. "I can feel her."

"As can I," said Adrian. He smiled and stroked the dragon's leg, fear the farthest thing from his mind, he thought and chuckled. "She's a mother." He looked up into the dragons eyes. "And a very good one." Then his face fell. "One of them was hers," he said low and angry. "And another was Ariadne's." His face became hard. "We will find your children, Asgre. We will find them, and the ones who took them, and when we do they won't face us." He stopped, shook his head, and chuckled without humour. "No, no, they won't face our laws, they will face you." His hand covered his heart. "By Salazar, I swear it."

"Already got a bit of the dragon fire in your soul, do ya?" Alasdair said from behind him. "Good!"

Katie turned from Asgre, who was looking at them with care and protectiveness that she could feel, and she looked at Alasdair. "It's incredible, Alasdair, this bond." She looked back at Asgre. "How could anyone want to hurt them?"

"They do so to their great peril," another woman said from behind Alasdair.

"Yes they do, Ellen," said Alasdair and he looked at the two before him. "The third secret is that dragons and the magical world are entwined, interwoven, and what happens to one happens to the other."

A tall black man, Harold Wilson, said, "When the great wave of dragon slayings happened, a huge amount of magic was swept from the world. Those were the dark ages. We don't understand why, but the Kind are necessary, and the more of them there are, the more magic there is, and the more magical children are born."

Charlie appeared at their side again. "Now for the final part of the bonding and the last great secret, they need us as much as we need them. Asgre will take you to her lair, and together you will perform the mating ritual."

Adrian turned to Charlie. "The what?"

(###)

Riding a dragon was the last thing Katie thought she would do in her life, and that she was doing it naked was unimaginable. Asgre was soaring through the clouds and preparing for another dive. Beside her Kaddyl, Asgre's mate, flew with Adrian astride his back. "They need us to save them in their mating ritual," Charlie had told them. "Before the Friends, most dragons died in mating, usually the first time. That's why they were so rare. With the bond, we can call to them, we can wake them."

Asgre pulled up into a steep climb and Katie was pushed back onto a dorsal plate. She had expected riding a dragon naked to be uncomfortable at best, but it was exactly the opposite, she fit. Her legs tucked perfectly beside the base of Asgre's neck, and the plates along her spine formed a natural saddle. Adrian had wondered at the same thing before the dragons had soared into the night sky, and the rushing air had made conversation impossible. Katie held on tight to the plates on Asgre's neck as the immensely strong animal powered its way thousands of feet into the sky. The magic was swirling between them all, from the tattoo on her back, _my dragon_, she thought, through Asgre and Kaddyl, to Adrian and his dragon. She could feel her dragon, it was awake and spreading its wings in sympathetic flight. The dragon beneath her let out a roar that Katie now recognized as the mating call, and suddenly Kaddyl was there. The two dragons grappled together and fell.

Through the bond Katie could feel the pleasure pouring from Asgre, Kaddyl's long, thick member sliding into her centre and twisting to and fro. She could feel the dragons slipping into a kind of trance as wave after wave of intense stimulation shot through them. Their flutelike song of love carried over the roar of the air. The two notes melded and a third and sometimes a forth note formed a chorus in the song. The dragons twitched and shuddered in ecstasy. A few feet away Adrian looked into her eyes, and then back towards the rapidly approaching earth.

"One," he mouthed.

"Two."

"Three!"

_ASGRE!_ Katie shouted in her mind. The dragon twitched but didn't come awake. _ASGRE, NOW! _The dragon twitched again, opened her eyes and licked her mate's snout. He licked her face, they wound their necks together one last time, separated, and pulled out of the death spiral dive. Katie saw Kaddyl, with Adrian on his back, soar across the valley, push off a rocky crag in mid flight, and sweep back up into the moonlit night.

_Once more, friends,_ Katie felt from Asgre. She smiled. _As much as you desire, Dilys Banon,_ she thought to the great green friend beneath her. Katie was in a state of bliss she hadn't felt since she was a child. It was a completeness, a peace, soaring through the clouds on the back of a dragon, and she laughed at the absurdity of it all. The air tearing past her body should have been chilling her to the bone, but Asgre was very warm, almost hot to the touch, and the air around her was balmy. As they thrust themselves back up to the dizzying heights Katie wept from the sheer joy of it.

(###)

"Oh, Adrian, that was the most intense experience I've ever had," Katie said as she dropped to the ground outside Asgre and Kaddyl's lair. He ran up to her and embraced her, kissing her passionately. He was very hard, and she was extremely aroused. Adrian cupped both of her arse cheeks in his hands, and she ground herself into him. "I need you, I need you now."

_Come, it is your time,_ she felt from Asgre. The dragons were huge dark shapes in the moonlight, barely discernable as green. _We have prepared a nest for you._ They followed Asgre and Kaddyl into the short cave. The two dragons curled around a large pile of hay in the centre of the cave, and with her teeth Asgre lifted one of the white robes off of the rock it was draped over. The dragon laid it carefully on top of the hay, nuzzled once with her mate, and then they both fell sound asleep.

Katie and Adrian climbed onto the nest cupped between the two sleeping dragons. "She is so right, our turn," said Katie, and without further conversation she slid down Adrian's body and took him in her mouth.

"Oh gods, Katie," he gasped. "Could you feel them? Could you feel what they were feeling?" He asked. "It was…"

She nodded and pulled from him. "I know." And she took him again.

The dragons stirred in their sleep, and Kaddyl let out a long slow breath that warmed the air in the cave. The two human occupants were soon writhing in their own mating ritual. The magical aura that had imbued them during the dragons mating drove them into a maelstrom of sexual energy, and they were helpless in its power. Adrian rolled Katie onto her back and straddled her face. She continued while he kissed his way down her stomach, past her navel, and slid his head between her thighs to dip his tongue into her hot wet centre.

Katie squealed and took him as far as she could. He was swirling his tongue over her, driving her mad. She was taking him fully and then rolling her tongue around him as she withdrew only to take him again. Smiling to herself she wrapped a hand around his arse and pressed a fingertip to his opening. "Oh, Katie, oh gods," he said, and thrust against her. Moments later she was falling too.


	4. Chapter 4 Coming Back To Life

The Division Bell

Chapter 4

Coming Back To Life

_I took a heavenly ride through one silence_

_I knew the moment had arrived_

_For killing the past and coming back to life_

Asgre alit in the field beside the compound. _We are grateful, new friends,_ Katie and Adrian felt as they slid from her back. _Rest, and enjoy the mating magic._ She nuzzled them in farewell, and then climbed back into the sky to return to Kaddyl.

Katie turned to Adrian, mouth agape. "I know," he said, and took her hand. The air was cool, and they were still in their white robes and nothing else. Katie shivered. "Let's get back indoors," said Adrian, and he led her across the path and to their cabin. The stars still shown bright in the night sky, but the moon had set while both dragons and humans napped in the Dilys Banon's lair. When they woke Asgre flew them back to the compound. The smell of the stew from the evening meal greeted them as they opened their cabin door. A small cauldron sat on the burner, a light flame keeping it warm.

"Thanks, Alice," Katie said, crossed the room, and picked up one of the bowls that sat on the cabinet. Adrian appeared next to her. His hand brushed hers when he took his bowl, and she was surprised by the sudden flood of heat in her centre. She smirked to herself and boldly stroked him through his robe with one hand while she placed her spoon her bowl with the other. With a smile she picked up her stew, walked to the table, and sat in one of the chairs. It hadn't escaped her notice that Adrian was hard again. He filled his bowl and sat opposite her.

His smug Slytherin grin was back, and gods, she was growing to like it. Her spoon came to her lips. She pursed them, and blew sensuously across it. A smile spread on her face, and she licked the underside of the spoon before sliding the whole thing into her mouth. "Mmm, so good," she said, running her tongue around her lips.

Adrian scooped a spoonful of the stew with one hand and slid his other up her leg. As he slowly blew on his spoon his hand was tracing slow deliciously painful circles on the inside of her thigh. She was ready to pounce on him at any second, but she had named the dance. Her spoon dipped again, and her hand slid across his thigh. She ran her fingernails up until her hand was just shy of him, and then lightly scraped them down again. All the while she languidly savoured her stew. Adrian's grin was getting smokier by the moment. His fingertips brushed her light curls while he took his next bite.

(###)

The dragon on her back was roaring in ecstasy, Katie could feel her calling to the one on Adrian's. She lay on a bench in the shower area of the common building. Her ankles wrapped around the back of his neck. Adrian had his knees on a pile of towels to make him level with the end of the bench. His hands gripped her thighs, and he repeatedly plunged, not knowing where one left off and the other began. She had come twice already and was building to another shrieking orgasm. Neither of them heard the door open.

A set of feminine hands wrapped around Adrian's chest and tweaked his nipples, at the same time Charlie sat behind Katie's head and cupped her breasts. "You're going to need help dissipating the mating magic," he said and sniggered.

The sudden surprise kicked her into a heightened arousal, and she came, shuddering and keening. When Katie opened her eyes again she saw Mary's arms wrapped around Adrian, Her fine hands threading through his chest hair. "The magic dissipates faster if you expend it with someone who isn't your partner, that's why there are at least four friends to a dragon kind," Mary explained. "Let me take care of you, and let Charlie care for Katie." She pulled him back, stood him up and pushed him back to lie on the bench opposite the one Katie lay on.

Charlie took the opportunity to kiss his way from her lips to her centre. His style was completely different than Adrian's, powerful and forceful. He plundered her, tonguing her hard and then stabbing deep. She reached up behind her head and grasped him. A small gasp escaped her as she felt his length. Charlie was not as thick as Adrian but he was two inches longer at least.

"Let me show you something," he said as he moved around to kneel in front of her as Adrian had. His face hardened in concentration and Katie watched in wonder as his dragon flowed over his shoulders and down his torso. It placed its forelegs on Charlie's thighs and lowered its head to just above his length. Charlie slid into her, the dragon opened its mouth, and its tongue snaked down. As he came to rest against her she felt him tap against her womb. No one had ever done that. Then she felt the dragons tongue.

It danced inside her, twitching, up and down, side to side and in circles, all while Charlie pounded her with sharp thrusts of his hips. On the other bench Mary was straddling Adrian and grinding her hips back and forth on him. She had a feral grin, and Katie saw her coaxing Adrian's dragon from his back. "Oh yeah, teach him this, oh fuck!" Katie gasped as Charlie's dragon blew fire. It tripped a series of intense orgasms that left her shaking.

Opposite them, Mary let out a howl as Adrian's dragon learned the trick of the tongue. "Do it, Adrian," she commanded. "Come on, come on," she stiffened, shuddered, and then it was Adrian's turn.

"Oh my fucking god!" he said loudly. Mary had quite ample breasts, and Adrian grabbed them and hung on as he rode out his own orgasm. "Fuck," he looked down at the self-satisfied dragon now crawling its way up his chest to resume its place on his back. "Talented little worm, aren't you?"

"Hope you didn't mind us joining in," said Charlie. "It takes four times longer to spend the magic if the two Friends do it by themselves."

"Yeah, fine," Katie said, and laughed in a high, slightly deranged way. "As long as you taught Adrian that dragon tongue trick, whatever you want." She waved her hand loosely in the air.

Mary laughed atop Adrian, and looked down into his face. "Feel a little less 'urgent'?" she asked.

"Uh hum," he said, not quite able to make words again at that moment.

"You are now true Dragon Friends," Charlie said solemnly, and then he smiled wide. "How's it feel?"

"I never…" Katie began. "I just… Charlie, it's the most wonderful thing ever. Thank you."

"No, thank you," he said, and helped her to her feet.

Mary stepped off Adrian, bent and took him in her mouth. He shuddered as she took him all the way and sucked him clean. "One of my favourite parts," she said licking her lips. "Ah, Asgre and Kaddyl are very powerful, but wait till you ride with Atlas and Ariadne! Ho, ho, ho, you won't walk straight for three days," she said, and pulled Adrian to his feet. "Come on and get dressed, you're late for breakfast."

(###)

Katie looked across the field. It was almost a mile to the pen that held the sheep. Five dragons, all the adolescents, stood in a line behind her. "You're first, Tia Shan," she said to the Chinese Fireball directly behind her. She had, much to her continued amazement, become completely relaxed around the enormous animals. In six and a half weeks she had almost forgotten her former life as a special agent. Her life was dragon keeping at this moment, and she wouldn't have it any other way. Adrian was down the field next to the pen. "Get ready." On her signal Adrian let a sheep loose from the pen. The dragon next to her tensed. "Not yet, wait…" Adrian shot a stunner into the ground behind the sheep, and it was off at a run. "NOW!"

The dragon soared into the air and raced down the field toward the spooked ram. At the last second the ram saw the advancing dragon and it made a right angle away from both Adrian and the dragon. Tia Shan missed the sheep completely, nosed into the turf, and tumbled to the ground. He rolled back to his feet, angrily spitting clumps of grass from his mouth.

"After him!" Adrian shouted. Tia Shan roared and leapt back into the air.

Katie grinned. He wouldn't miss a second time. The dragon came up fast behind the terrified sheep, cut to its left a hundred feet, and then cornered and flew at it from the left rear side. The sheep never saw him. Katie heard the bone-crunching impact from across the field. Tia Shan threw the ram into the air and swallowed it whole in one gulp mid flight. The other young dragons behind Katie trumpeted in applause as she too clapped for Tia Shan.

The bright red and gold animal landed in front of her, and he nuzzled her hard. She felt a few small blisters form where his nostril grazed her. It was nothing now. She wholly understood all the little scars and burns that peppered the Dragon Friends. It was unavoidable. They loved the animals and the animals loved them. Burns were just part of the job. "Cerys," she called to the young Welsh Green female. "You're up next."

Training the teenage dragons to catch their own food was one of the most enjoyable parts of the job. Katie and Adrian had drawn this duty twice now. The first few weeks had been a blur of strange new experiences and study. The Dragon Friends were courteous and kind taskmasters, and they expected a lot. A pile of books landed on the little table in their cabin the first day, and from then on they had been quizzed daily on dragon kinds, anatomy, requirements, temperament, behaviours, and dozens of other topics related to the amazing animals. Then, occasionally they, or one of the Horntail friends who were hosting them, drew a mating flight from the bowl of talents.

Every evening, after dinner, a large bowl was brought to the centre of the common building. Usually Charlie, who was good at that kind of thing, would shake the bag of talents and pour the little slats of wood into the bowl. One by one the Dragon Friends would come to the bowl, draw a talent, and read aloud the gold script writing that formed as they looked at it. Applause followed most duties, with cheers for flights, and laughter for mucking the infirmary stalls and nurseries. The bowl made sure the duties were evenly parcelled out so that there was never any doubt about the division of labours and rewards.

Katie and Adrian fell into the routine of new Dragon Friends in short order, and they had amazed their mentors with the speed at which they became knowledgeable about "the Kind" as the Dragon Friends called them. They had also visited the four nests that had been robbed, and their new friends had been even more impressed by the other skills that Katie and Adrian possessed. They spread out around each nest and investigated it as they would any crime scene. The thoroughness and efficiency they showed resulted in surprised faces from Charlie and Ellen, an Opaleye, but when they had returned to Atlas and Ariadne's nest last week and found the two month old footprints and a shell chip from the stolen egg, the Dragon Friends had been astonished.

"We scoured it!" Donald exclaimed. "How did we miss that?"

Adrian had poured a beer in him, and then explained about the months of training they had received in investigation and observation. He had already begun forming a theory on how the thieves were accomplishing the seemingly impossible feat of defeating the park wards, approaching a dragon nest without being sensed, and removing an egg without being eaten. Adrian, who appreciated the planning and skill it took, smiled in admiration of the thieves. Then he patted Donald on the shoulder and told him, "They always think they're so smart. Their biggest mistake is always the same, though."

"What's that?" Donald had asked.

"Thinking they're smarter than we are."

(###)

After meeting with the Dragon Friends council, the chip and an image of the footprint had been owled off to their Unspeakable in the department of mysteries, and they were anxiously awaiting her findings. As always, they had done a thorough investigation, and in the intervening time Katie and Adrian had fallen in love with the dragons and each other. Hard days of very physical work had put them back in the peak condition they had been in upon graduation from the Auror Academy, and long nights of comfort in each other's arms had bonded them.

It was also a very good thing that neither one of them was the jealous type. His Slytherin arrogant confidence, and her Gryffindor certainty, trumped any insecurity the occasional mating magic orgy might inspire.

"Oh yes, Adrian," Alice cried. "Fuck, yes." He was stretching her, and the heat, oh gods, the heat.

"You like that?" he asked. The tattooed dragon reclined against his chest, its legs spread to cover Adrian's. That placed the dragon's member directly over his. The dragon rolled its eyes and silently roared as it and Adrian plundered Alice. She was lying on her side, he had one leg hugged in his arms, and he was pounding her hips with his. Across the playroom from him, Katie was riding Charlie. Adrian loved to watch her, even if it wasn't with him, and Katie had learned a few things about training her dragon too. Charlie's dragon was sliding its tongue down Charlie's lenght once again, but this time Katie's dragon was spread across her chest and torso, riding his long member with its red heat. Katie grinned and squeaked as she came. She banished the ropes that had held him tied to the corners of the large poof they were on, pulled him to his feet, and rolled onto her back, half on, half off the poof.

"Let's have it, Big Red," she said and spread her knees wide for him.

They were momentarily obscured by Olivia, a fireball being carried by Everest, one of the other fireballs, to a couch, her legs wrapped around his waist, bouncing on him with every step.

When Adrian could see her again, Charlie was giving her all he had. Katie looked down and laughed. Her dragon was practically dancing in ecstasy. She reached down, slid two fingers around him, and rubbed her clit with the back of her thumb. She came hard again and clenched around him. "Come for me, Charlie," she commanded.

Charlie gasped, and shouted, "Holy fuck!" Then he collapsed on her as he twitched and laughed.

Adrian doubled his speed and Alice cried out, "God damn it!" Her nails scraped down his chest and he untied her hands so she could use them. She shuddered and her breath came in hitching sobs. "Oh, God damn it, Adrian, holy shit!"

"Better?" he asked, and removed her blindfold.

"Atlas and Ariadne," she said breathlessly. "Gods."

(###)

The large brown owl dropped the letter in front of Katie. She set her spoon back in her bowl of porridge and retrieved the letter from the table while Adrian fed the owl a few slices of bacon. Holly, a Hebridean and a new friend, slid over next to her. "Something from your team at the ministry?" she asked.

Katie looked down at Cho Chang's elegant script on the envelope. "Yeah, let's see what she's found." She passed her wand over the envelope and it opened. "We do a charm so that no one but the recipient can open them. Let's see…"

_Greetings Katie and Adrian,_

_I have analyzed the image you sent and found that it is a Muggle boot made by an American manufacturer, size eleven, and quite common. I'm sorry that I can't be more helpful on that front. On the other hand the shell piece provided a wealth of information. I was able to do a life trace, and I found that the dragon that was inside the egg is still alive. I also was able to do a location spell. The accuracy of the locating spell falls off with distance, and the egg is quite far from here, so I was only able to get a general indication. Pack your swimsuit._

_The egg is on one of the Hawaiian Islands._

_Cho._

"Hawaii," said Holly with feigned jealousy. "That's a romantic destination. Sure you and Adrian don't need company?"

Katie smiled at her new friend. "Oh, I'm sure we'll be just fine," she said, and then became serious. "But now that we have an idea where we're off to, we need to meet with the council."

(###)

"Dragon Friends!" Charlie shouted. "Katie and Adrian have found a clue. They will leave tomorrow to chase those who have wronged us, but tonight we celebrate our newest friend's accomplishments." Katie and Adrian looked on from the Horntail bench. Charlie smirked down at them from his perch on the hearth. They had no idea what he was up to, and it showed on their surprised faces. "Katie and Adrian have earned the teeth! So say the Horntails!"

"So say the Viperteeth!" shouted Alasdair.

"So say the Fireballs!" Olivia, dark haired with fiery eyes, called from her seat.

"The Hebrideans say Aye!" Hamish yelled from the table beside them.

"The Opal Eye agree!" Alan yelled from across the hall.

"So say the Ridgebacks," Helen, the oldest of the friends, said from her chair.

"The Snouts say yea!" Arty Olafson, always smiling, said as he stood.

"Da!" Ivan, the Iron Belly, said from the fireplace and raised his mug at them.

"So say the Longhorns!" Mary Elizabeth declared to the hall.

"And the Welsh are proud to welcome Adrian and Katie to the Friends." Robert said from beside them. "Asgre herself has given up two of her teeth." He placed a dragon tooth on a leather cord around each of their necks. "You are friends, now and always," he said with a hand on each of their shoulders. The hall broke into a roar of cheers. The newest friends were surrounded by the rest and welcomed again with hugs, handshakes, and more than a few beers.

Katie looked at the tooth around her neck, and then back to Adrian sleeping in the bed she had made by transfiguring the two in the cabin into one. "Any time you wish you may return, any group of the Friends anywhere in the world will welcome you." Charlie had said.

"The teeth are your keys to the dragon's realm, and your tattoos are your bond with the Kind. They will know you." Robert said.

_I don't want to leave, Adrian. I've never been happier in my life. You, the Friends, and the Kind, that's all I want._ She sighed. _ Ah well, tomorrow we go._ She lay back down and snuggled into his side. _ Be nice tomorrow, Adrian, because I'm going to be a moody bitch._


	5. Chapter 5 Playing with Fire

The Division Bell

Chapter 5

Playing with Fire

_Hey you did you ever realize what you'd become_

_And did you see that it wasn't only me you were running from_

_Did you know all the time but it never bothered you anyway_

The water really was a lovely shade of blue-green. Katie and Adrian had been in Hawaii for two weeks now. The first week had been a romantic, if fruitless, search of the island of Oahu. Then they had sent for Cho. When the beautiful woman decanted out of the portkey, she had immediately done the location spell again, and it had narrowed their search down to the much larger island of Hawaii. The search from there had been a lot harder. The Big Island, as the locals called it, was exactly that. It was half the size of Ireland and imbued with just as much magic. The land thrummed beneath them in a very pleasant way, and despite their growing sense of urgency, sitting on a beach chair, drink in hand, while the surf gently lapped at the sugar coloured sands of Hapuna Beach had a call that was too hard to resist. They didn't.

Cho lounged next to her, tanning with an ease that Katie was mildly jealous of. For the first week Katie had to apply a muggle concoction with thirty-five written on the side to keep her from resembling a lobster, whereas Cho rubbed a bit of oil on her skin and turned a lovely chocolate colour in three days. Actually, as she thought about it, it pissed Katie off a little. She shook her head and smiled, "Map?" she asked.

"Oh, um… here it is," Cho said as she leaned over the side of the chaise and reappeared with their map of the island. "So, we've covered the north end and everything east of Wiamea."

"Yeah, I think we should try down the coast on this side today." Katie smiled as she looked at the map. "These names!" she said, amused. "And I thought Welsh was hard."

"Oh, Hawaiian's not so bad."

"Yeah? How's this one, then? Ki… I can't even go on without bending my tongue."

Cho laughed. "Come on, you just pronounce every letter, here." She pointed at the map and slowly enunciated "Ki, a, lew, a. See?"

"Kiss my arse."

"Hmm, tempting, but I'm not into girls. Try Ginny Weasley, she is."

Adrian watched as the two women laughed and clinked their glasses together. Katie had been morose the first few days after they left the dragon reserve, and he understood why. He felt the same sense of loss and displacement she did. However, as the search had commenced, she had brightened. They had even shared an incredibly erotic swim with the local dolphins a few days earlier.

(###)

Cho was recovering from the exertion of casting the location spell in her room. It took a large amount of effort to spin the magic up and direct it inside the intense magical field that seemed to permeate all the islands, this one in particular. While she rested, Katie and Adrian had taken the opportunity to go for a swim. The bubble head charm worked perfectly. Fish and other sea life abounded in the lava rubble fields and coral reefs just off shore. With their magic, Katie and Adrian were able to explore places that the normal tourists couldn't. They were about thirty feet deep and a few hundred feet off shore when she heard the chirping, clicking sound of an approaching dolphin pod.

Adrian was pointing out a brilliant blue-green fish with red and gold markings when, out of the deep blue ocean, the dolphins appeared. There were ten of them, and they were absolutely fearless. One swam within two feet of Katie, looked her up and down, and then made a popping noise so loud Katie's eyes vibrated. What could have only have been a kind of laughter sounded from all around the two humans, and Katie laughed with them. The animals swam in slow circles around Katie and Adrian, urging them to join them.

Doing their best to tag along, Katie and Adrian pushed themselves through the water with the aid of a propulsion spell. The dolphins were playing and chatting. There was an almost constant stream of clicks, pops, and squeaks coming from them. Then Katie notice two of them mating. It was a beautiful dance. The male would swim around the female, stroking her with his fins, and playing with her. Then they would join and spin through the water. She turned to Adrian and saw that he too was watching the mating dolphins.

"Care to join them?" he asked.

Katie pulled him to her, their bubbles merged, and she kissed him. It was blissful, floating weightless in the water, his lips on hers, their tongues dancing with each other. She pulled back, shimmied out of her bikini bottom and tied it to her wrist. Adrian did the same with his swim trunks, and she pulled him back into an embrace. He cast the lubrication charm he had learned from Charlie on his fingers and caressed her clit. Adrian directed his propulsion charm to follow the lead dolphin, wrapped himself and Katie in it, and kissed her again.

The dolphins of Hawaii are called Spinners, and, like all dolphins, they are very intelligent creatures. When the alpha male of the pod felt the magic gently surround him he moved side to side in the water, saw the affect it had on the direction of the human couple, and called to his pod. The other nine surrounded Katie and Adrian, and then the Alpha male began a slow spiral through the water.

Katie couldn't close her eyes, even when Adrian's strong fingers found their way into her. The world was twirling around them in brilliant colours and fanciful forms. Light from the surface, then darker shapes of the coral and fish below, Adrian's hand expertly bringing her close to coming, her own hand stroking him, it was like a dream. Katie cast the lubrication charm she had learned from Alice, wrapped her legs around Adrian, and slid herself onto him. The dolphins cheered, she heard them, and more, she could feel them. This was a ritual for them, and they were pleased to share it.

The water was flowing around her, over her breasts, through her hair, along her legs and thighs, and all the while Adrian was smiling back at her, gently but firmly rocking her against him. The world was spinning, the dolphins were singing a glorious symphony, and Adrian's thickness filled her. He had learned to push back at exactly the right angle. Knowing he was bringing her close, she took him there by squeezing around him in just the right way. He hugged her, and slid his hand up to tangle in her hair. Then they were kissing and coming, the world was twirling, and life was truly magical and as good as it gets.

(###)

"I think I got something that time," Cho was on the brink of unconsciousness. "South, east, sou.." she said, and was asleep.

Katie sighed. "Well she's out for the next fifteen hours."

"South and east, eh," Adrian said, rubbing his now tanned chin. All of them had coloured in the tropical sun. Katie and Adrian knew their dragons loved basking as much as they did, so the two of them had made a point of letting as much sun as they safely could fall on their skin. He was tanned from head to foot, his hair had started to develop faint dark red streaks that Katie thought were dead sexy, and his body had been toned and hardened from months of hard work with the Kind. _Bloody fucking hell, Adrian!_ she thought as he turned toward her in just his shorts. She couldn't help nodding at him blankly when he showed her that grin she now loved, and asked, "Fancy a broom ride?"

The sun was low on the horizon as they soared over the lava fields south of the little village of Kealakekua, then they turned and headed east toward the volcano. Adrian always let Katie handle the broom when they flew together. It was a gesture she appreciated more than almost any of the others. Flying was her passion, and flying with her friends among the Kind had become one of her greatest pleasures. It was as she was letting the beauty of the sunset fill her, and she was thinking how Asgre would love to fly here, that the distress call caught her in the chest. She gasped and slowed the broom.

"Did you feel that?" she asked Adrian.

"Yes." A chill went up her spine. That voice only came out of Adrian when he was deadly serious. They had both felt a dragon call go straight through them, and _their_ dragons were awake and searching for the source. "That way," he said, pointing away from the main peak of the volcano to the slope below and the smaller smoking cone. The closer they got to the smaller cone the stronger the pull became. Katie could feel Adrian tensing around her. He was preparing for the fight he knew was coming.

Katie felt the call coming from just over a ridge they were approaching, so she set the broom down a little shy of the top. They had changed from their next to nothing normal wear to sturdy shoes, jeans, and tough shirts. Fashion and comfort surrendered in the face of necessity. "Just beyond the crest, maybe a hundred yards," she said. Adopting their professional demeanour, they disillusioned themselves and crept over the ridge top.

They heard the argument long before they saw the owners of the voices.

"Really, Augustus! You'd think a man who'd taken the _Dark Mark_ from the _Dark Lord _himself would have more guts." Her voice wasn't loud, really, but it carried its simpering way. Katie froze as Adrian's hand grasped hers and squeezed. They both knew that voice _very_ well.

"Dolores, I am sick to death of burns and choking fumes. Are you ever going to help with these ghastly beasts?" That voice they didn't know, but Katie had a fairly good idea who it belonged to. Kingsley was going to shit a kneazle. It really was too bad he wouldn't get to see them.

"Oh, Aggie, I do help. Didn't I help you last night?" she said cloyingly.

"A blowjob and pussy doesn't help with this."

Katie suppressed a laugh when she felt Adrian's whole body shudder. His hand squeezed hers again, and she dropped into battle mode. As was their usual strategy, she went left and he went right. The lava was still warm from the eruption. Her guess was it was perhaps only a few weeks, or maybe a month old. The brittle surface crunched under her feet, so she did the silencing charm on her shoes. Katie rounded an outcropping, and there she was.

Dolores Umbridge stood looking down into a small chasm. "Just feed the bloody thing!" she huffed.

Katie took aim at her and, with a mighty triumph of will over blind vengeance, didn't kill her on the spot. She held her wand on the odious woman as she advanced across the lava. Katie reached the edge of the fissure and looked down into it. At the bottom was a much dishevelled, and not at all happy, Augustus Rookwood. Suddenly his wand flew from his pocket into the air and vanished, a split second later Katie caught Umbridge's wand in her outstretched hand.

"_Incarcerous!"_ Adrian said. Rope flew from out of nowhere and hogtied Rookwood. At almost the same time a second set shot from Katie's wand and wrapped themselves around Umbridge. Adrian dispelled his _disillusion_ first. "Dolores Umbridge, Augustus Rookwood, the Minister sends you his greetings." He was grinning ear to ear, then he looked down into the cleft in the hill and his face became stony. "You are in very deep trouble."

"Pucey, isn't it?" Umbridge said. "You're a Slytherin, aren't you?"

He looked back at her. "Yes, what of it?"

Katie knew that voice, too._ Oh fuck,_ _don't go there, dumb arse!_

"You should know that this farce of an administration will never last. The Muggles and Mudbloods and their filthy progeny can't hold power for long," Umbridge said haughtily. "Remember what you are, Pucey."

_You stupid bitch,_ Katie thought. _You couldn't have picked a better way to piss him off._

A blast of red light took Umbridge off her feet and slammed her to the sharp lava rocks. She screamed in pain as several sharp edges gouged into her back. "I am a member of Magical Law Enforcement," he said through gritted teeth, and Katie could hear the fury in his voice. Another blast hammered Umbridge. "I swore to uphold the new magical charter with a free heart." The lightning spell ripped through her, and she howled again. He turned his back to her and ripped off his shirt, showing her his fully awake and very angry dragon. "And I am a Dragon Friend!"

Just then a half-dead Welsh Green chick stumbled out of the shadows in the chasm toward Rookwood. "Ahh! Don't let it eat me!" he cried.

Katie would have laughed if she hadn't been so angry. In an instant she was in the bottom of the cleft and gathering the emaciated chick in her arms. She could feel the call coming off the little girl in waves, and Katie made the comforting growl she had heard the mother dragons make. The chick calmed in her arms and snuggled into her chest. "You evil fucks! What the hell do you think you're doing?" she shouted at Rookwood. "What the fuck have you been feeding her?"

"Been _Accioing_ fish from the ocean, seems to feed it well enough," he answered. "The beast wants to bite me every time I get near it."

"Really?" she said in a voice full of sarcasm. "I can't imagine why. Didn't either one of you try to learn anything about them? Greens eat sheep, cows, deer, land animals, you dumb shits. You didn't even try, did you?" Katie had never been this angry in her life.

She was met with silence. The only answer they got was Umbridge moaning in pain._ "Levicorpus, _Adrian growled, and Rookwood was hauled out of the chasm and dropped next to his unfortunate companion. "What happened to the others?"

His prisoners stared at him and said nothing. Adrian pressed his wand to Rookwood's crotch. "You saw that lightning curse?" he asked him.

Rookwood nodded, his eyes wide. "Yeah."

"Where are the others?" Adrian said in a voice Katie new meant nothing good for his captives.

_Don't hold back, Adrian. They earned it all,_ she thought.

"All right, all right, they're down there. A, a small cave."

"_Finite!" _Katie yelled, and swept her wand around her. An opening in the rock appeared and a short lava tube lead perhaps twenty feet into the hillside. At the back sat the three remaining eggs. One appeared to be starting to hatch. She ran to them and cast the natal health charm. "Got them. Everyone's still alive, but just," she yelled up to Adrian.

"Portkey to the infirmary, I'll question these two," Adrian yelled back down to her.

Katie pulled a larger travel bag from her own smaller one and gently put the Green chick in it. Then she gathered the eggs, put them in her satchel, and cast the cushioning and heating charms on them. "I'll be back shortly," She shouted to Adrian. She picked up a rock, pointed her wand at it, and said, _"Portus."_ Her hand went to the breast pocket of her shirt; she pulled a dragon scale from it, and put the rock in its place. "All right you lot, let's get you home," she said as she picked up the two bags, and then she pressed hard on the dragon scale. The portkey spell activated, she floated up into the air, and disappeared in a flash of blue light.

"Tell me the truth," Adrian said as he turned to the two on the ground. "Tell me the truth, and I'll let you go. We're just concerned about the dragons. First, how did you manage to get into the reserve?"

Umbridge glared at him and said nothing, but Rookwood looked from her to Adrian and back with an unsure expression on his face. "All right," Adrian said. "One at a time, then. _Levicorpus!" _Rookwood was once again hoisted into the air by his foot. "Come along." Adrian tromped across the lava field to a spot a hundred feet or so away, and then he dropped Rookwood unceremoniously to the ground. "You actually fucked that?" he asked in wonder and disgust.

"You take what you can get, boy."

Adrian shook his head. "How did you get through the wards around the reserve?" Rookwood didn't answer. "I'll just go and get the Veritaserum while you lie here tied up, then."

"All right," said Rookwood. "We hauled in a dragon keeper for a blood status review and managed to get a bit out of him before he died."

"Like what?" Adrian asked coldly.

"Dragons can pass freely through the ward."

"Yes, I know."

Rookwood smiled. "Bad security. We killed a wyvern and I wore its skin to pass through the boundary."

Adrian nodded. "I thought as much, clever, then?"

"Well, I… we have a deal, right? I tell you and you let me go?"

Adrian smiled. "Yes, we have a deal. We're just interested in protecting the Kind."

"Okay, okay." Rookwood said. Adrian could sense he wanted to tell. He was proud of what he'd done. "The skin suit fooled them too, stupid beasts. We always went at night. I would walk into the reserve, and with the suit on I was able to get close enough to the nests. Then I could summon an egg without waking the dragon."

Adrian nodded. "Why were you taking them in the first place?"

"That's Dolores's end. This was all her idea, really."

"Why bring them here?"

"Keeps the eggs warm without us having to babysit."

Adrian shook his head. They knew nothing about what they were trying to do. Young dragons required constant care. From the moment the egg was laid to well into their second year their mothers were busy tending their progeny. "Well, the ground here is warm but not quite warm enough. The egg needs to be hot, not just warm." Adrian looked at him in disgust. "One last question for you then,"-he shook his head in wonder- "you actually fucked that evil bitch?"

"Had to, boy. It wasn't bad." Rookwood smiled. "Pussy's really tight, and with that big mouth of hers she gives a very fine blowy. The tit fuck's good, too."

Adrian shuddered again. "Ugh. All right, her turn." Rookwood was yanked up into the air again and Adrian trotted back to Umbridge. He dropped Rookwood to the ground next to her, and yanked her into the air. "This way… Professor." He sniggered at the title as he led her away from her companion. She had recovered from the stunning spell and was furious.

"Put me down, you traitorous boy!" she yelled, "I am your better, and you know it. Put me down!"

Adrian dropped her to the lava. "Sure, how's that?"

She screamed in pain as the lava opened several more cuts on her side where she landed. "You are horrid!"

"Yes, but handsome, don't you think?" Adrian said, and showed her his smug grin.

She just glared at him.

"Well, madam, what shall we talk about?" he said lightly, and rubbed his chin. "I know!"- his demeanour turned menacing in an instant- "Why did you steal the eggs?" he said low and harsh.

"I won't talk, and you won't use an unforgivable curse, so we're at a stalemate, Pucey," she said.

A slow grin formed on his face. "Really, are we now? Oh, Madam Umbridge, there are so much better methods than _Cruciatus_ for gleaning the truth." He pulled another dragon scale from his small bag. "For example, if I tell this portkey to take you directly to Asgre, it will. She'd give you a warm welcome," he chuckled.

"Who's Asgre, and what does she have to do with me?"

Adrian smiled wide. "Asgre is the Dilys Banon, the True Queen of the dragons, and the mother of the chick that just left. I'm fairly sure she's very unhappy with you, and if you were to suddenly appear in her lair… well…"

Umbridge paled with every word. "You, you wouldn't, Pucey. They are vile, low creatures, useful only for their parts. We are magical, superior, above them, and the Muggles and the Mudbloods…"

Adrian reached down and slapped her with the back of his hand, hard. "Say that word again and I'll send you directly to her," he said, low and cold. "You have a great deal to learn about the Kind, and you will have your chance, but first," - he leaned down so his face was inches from hers- "Why did you steal the eggs?"

She shook her head and Adrian placed the dragon scale in the palm of her hand. "One, Two…"

"THE BLACK MARKET!" she yelled.

"What about it?"

"Well, since the treaty on dragon products they've become scarce, and we needed money. I remembered about the dragon keeper we interrogated…"

"Who was he?"

"I don't…" she searched her memory. "Davidson, Richard Davidson."

"Continue."

"I… If they find out, they'll kill us."

Adrian looked at her and raised one eyebrow.

"All right, all right, you horrid boy. Albert knew of a contact, so I visited Thailand and arranged a deal."

"Yeah, he didn't say anything about that." He looked into the setting sun. "That's where they are, Thailand?"

"Yes."

He looked back down at her. "Where exactly?"

"Bangkok. Semanin Avenue, Two forty one."

"Thank you, madam. Now that wasn't so hard, was it?"

"You are a horrid boy," she spat, "We are your elders, your betters. Let us go now."

Adrian smiled wide. "Oh, no, not just yet."

A port key opened by the spot where Rookwood lay and Katie dropped back to the earth of Hawaii. Adrian hoisted Umbridge back into the air and walked over to Katie. "Everyone okay?"

"Yes." She looked at their prisoners with contempt. "It was close. Asgre's chick is very weak, I barely got the little girl back to her in time, but we got a bit of food in her, and she's napping with Kaddyl. Si Lyn and Bridget's eggs will need a lot of time in the incubators, and Ariadne's egg is hatching now, Atlas is with it."

"Good," said Adrian, and he looked in her eyes. "They ready for us?"

Katie nodded grimly.

Adrian levitated his captives upright and brought them up to face him and Katie. "Time to go," he said lightly. He wedged the dragon scale between their hands and bound them together. Then he placed his finger on the scale and Katie did the same.

"You said you would let us go," Umbridge said with wide eyes.

Katie looked at Adrian bemused, and then that lovable, smug grin formed on his face. _I love you so much, _she thought, because she knew exactly what he was about to say.

"I lied."

(###)

Dawn was just tinting the eastern sky when they dropped to the turf in the middle of the common field. Dozens of beams of light illuminated the spot where they stood. Rookwood and Umbridge tried to see where they were, but all they could see was Katie, Adrian, and a small circle of the grass around them.

"_Relashio," _Adrian said, and the ropes binding their prisoners fell to the ground. "You have offended the Kind," he said coldly. "I turn my back to you." He spun on his heel and walked away into the lights.

"As do I," Katie said, and her shirt was off. When she turned her back to Umbridge and Rookwood they could see her dragon was awake and staring back at them, quite literally with fire in its eyes. She walked into the lights, and then they heard, "As do I" coming from all around them. One by one the lights winked out and Umbridge could see farther into the darkness. There were people around them, turning their backs to them, so that all they could see were their tattoos, glaring and angry. The more the lights from the Dragon Friends' wands dimmed, the more Umbridge and Rookwood could see.

They were surrounded by the Dragon Friends. All of them had their backs turned to them, and all of their dragons were regarding the two of them with hate. Then the Dragon Friends as one walked away into the gloom. The sky was just starting to lighten, and Umbridge could see the shapes of the surrounding mountains. She started to tremble when those mountains began to stir. Huge, lumbering shapes were moving in the darkness around them, and the two of them could hear a loud scraping and scratching sound. A ball of light shot into the sky, bloomed into a small sun over the centre of the common field, and Dolores Umbridge screamed.

More than fifty dragons surrounded them in a large circle. Beyond the circle the Dragon Friends were walking away from them. From the edge of the circle Ariadne advanced on her; Umbridge turned to her right and Si Lyn, the red and gold Fireball, snaked toward her with surprising speed. It was then that she heard a low growl from behind her. Dolores Umbridge turned and looked directly into the face of the Dilys Banon. All the other dragons backed away, and Asgre drew a deep breath.

(###)

"Oh fuck, Katie," said Adrian.

He was stretched across one of the couches in the play room. Katie giggled and took him again. She had learned just how much he liked a good blowjob over the last few months, and she was determined to make this one as memorable as possible. He had done so well. As the Friends walked away from the Kind there had been a few screams, a few roars, and then the unmistakable sound of dragon fire. First had been the high screeching howl of a Welshie's fire, then the thunder of a Horntail blast, next the subtle hiss of a Snout blast, and finally the titanic explosion of a Fireball. Then all was silence but for the rushing of wings.

"_I lied," _his voice said in her head, and she smiled.

"Merlin, babe, you're so good!"

There was one more technique she was eager to try. Marilyn of the Opaleyes had shown her this one, and she had just waited for the right time. Katie sat up and jerked Adrian while her face hardened in concentration. Adrian rose up on his elbows and watched in awe as her dragon's face flowed over her own until their eyes and mouths aligned. Katie's eyes even went gold, and then she took him again. Her mouth was almost too hot, almost. He collapsed back onto the couch and let out a mighty groan of pleasure.

"You're going to make me jealous, Adrian," Charlie said from a few feet away, with Alice riding him.

"Don't get so caught up in banter that you forget to fuck me, Big Red," said Alice breathlessly.

Charlie grabbed her around the waist and rolled her over on the floor. "Alright, how's this?" He slid back into her in one swift motion and buried himself in her.

"Oh… Shit!" Alice said in a tight squeal.

Charlie started slamming into her hard, over and over, as fast as he could. "Is that what you want, hmm? You want it hard, don't you?"

"Yes, oh fuck yes!" Alice screamed as she came.

The room was full. All the dragon friends were celebrating the return of the lost, and the ruin of those that had taken them. It hadn't been planned, it just happened. Katie and Adrian, along with the rest of the Friends, had walked away from the field and back to the Great Hall. As one they had passed straight through it and into the play room. A round of laughter had preceded the full on orgy that commenced. Most, like Katie and Adrian, had paired with their lovers, but some were enjoying many partners. The Hebrideans were a pile of arms and legs sticking different directions, Ellen of the Snouts rode Arthur of the Ironbellies while she sucked Luther of the Greens. His hands were busy with Mary Elisabeth of the Fireballs.

Katie let out a slow breath and felt the heat on her cheeks. Adrian quaked under her. "I need you," she said, and crawled up his body. Lifting herself on one foot she grasped him and then she sheathed him. "Yesss, oh yes," she said as a small orgasm rippled through her. She felt her dragon slide back off her face and move down her body to straddle Adrian where he filled her. It quivered in delight as it too settled.

"Umphf, oh gods, Katie. Oh, fuck."

Katie rode him hard, bouncing on his hips. When she felt the rising tide within her she ground down on him, and pressed herself hard against him while she rocked back and forth. Her eyes drifted back into focus and she grinned wickedly. Plucking her wand from a table next to the couch, she conjured a swing hanging directly over Adrian. "You are going to love this," she told him.

Katie reluctantly puller herself off Adrian and sat in the swing, and then she manoeuvred it so that her arse was directly over him again. She waved her wand at the ropes of the swing and it gently lowered her down so that he slid back into her. "Now the good bit." She stuck her legs out straight, waved her wand at the ropes, and she began to turn. The expression on his face was priceless. By the time she was completing her third rotation he was alternately grinning like a madman and rolling his eyes uncontrollably. The turning was bringing her to another orgasm too. From across the room Katie saw Ellen give her the thumbs up from her own swing.


	6. Chapter 6 I'm not the one you need

The Division Bell

Chapter 6

I'm not the one you need

_Do you think that I know something you don't know_

_What do you want from me_

_If I don't promise you the answers would you go_

_What do you want from me_

_Should I stand out in the rain_

_Do you want me to make a daisy chain for you_

_I'm not the one you need_

The moon was still high in the sky when they reappeared on the lava field. Katie and Adrian lit their wands, and made their way back up the slope from the little crevasse that had held the eggs to where their broom lay propped against a rock. "Cho's going to be upset she missed all the excitement," said Adrian.

"Probably best she did," said Katie in a serious voice. "You know how twitchy she is since the battle."

"Yeah, watching Goldstein get roasted in front of her really was the capper, wasn't it?"

"She's so damaged," said Katie sadly. "First Cedric, then the disaster with Harry, and then at last she gets a real love only to have him killed horribly right before her eyes."

"I wish there was a way for her to say goodbye."

Katie stopped in her tracks. _There is, Adrian. There is._ An idea took form in Katie's mind. It would require visiting Luna and an uncomfortable conversation, but Katie was re-evaluating a lot of things in her life, and she and Adrian needed to talk.

(###)

_I feel like a character in a fairy tale, _Katie thought as she climbed toward the tall, round, black tower crowning the hill. The weather was rough, and she drew her cloak tighter. _I know you can feel me coming, Luna. Tea would be nice._ Katie smiled and thought about her friend. Luna had been changed by her imprisonment in the basement of Malfoy Manor. Her latent psychic ability had blossomed into an incredible talent, and a curse. She couldn't be around more than a few people at a time for very long. The cacophony of other people's thoughts would cause her intense headaches, and then she would lapse into unconsciousness.

Katie opened the gate to the small yard around the tower, and the front door opened. Neville Longbottom stood in the doorway regarding her with his jovial smile. "Katie?" he asked. "What brings you to Lovegood Tower?"

"Hey, Nev," said Katie, and she hugged him. "Just need to borrow something from your wife."

He nodded and stepped to the side to allow her in. "Luna's upstairs in her study. I'll bring tea up in a bit." Neville looked at her and sighed. "You're still on the job, aren't you?"

"There's still a lot of evil out there, Nev."

He nodded. "Yes, but we've done our part. Let the next crew do their share."

"You did your part, organizing the resistance in Hogwarts, leading the battle, killing the snake."

"We all did our part," he said earnestly. "I just held the sword."

_You did a lot more than that, Nev, a hell of a lot more. _"Yeah, well, we'll see."

"It's time, Katie Bell," Neville said seriously. "There are people who need to prove themselves, people who missed the battle for any number of reasons and are ashamed that they did. Let them do their part." he placed his hands on her shoulders and looked in her eyes. "We've done ours."

"I know, Nev. I know. I had some… well." Katie took his hand from her shoulder and kissed it. "Let's just see what happens next." She smiled at him, and went up the stairs.

The pairing of Neville and Luna came as a complete shock to everyone who didn't know them, but after the battle they should have known. The first person he sought out when the dust cleared was her, and he hardly let go of her hand for the rest of the morning. Neville had been terrified when she was dragged from the train by Avery and Yaxley. He ran to her car, but he couldn't get there before the two Death Eaters had Apparated away with her. When his coin had warmed and he read the words "Safe for now, L." he had collapsed on his bed in the Room of Requirement and wept in relief. That was when he knew.

Luna was sitting at her desk that faced one of the wide curved windows on the third floor. She turned and smiled. "Hello, Katie. Please, make yourself comfortable."

"Thanks, Luna. I suppose you know why I'm here."

"Your _Occlumency_ skills are quite good. If I don't try to look in your mind I don't hear you."

"Thanks. Well, then it can wait," Katie looked into her friends eyes. "How are you, Luna?"

A radiant smile lit the blonde woman's face. "I'm very well, thank you." She pried herself out of her chair and waddled her seven months pregnant body over to the side board. A large jar with oddly shaped lumps floating in a clear brown liquid sat on the board, and Luna opened it. "Would you like a pickled pig's foot? I just can't get enough of them." She pulled something that looked not quite edible from the jar.

"Um, no, thank you." Katie chuckled. "Nev ready for fatherhood yet?"

"Yes, I'm ready," Neville said as he entered the room carrying the tea tray. "If Hermione and George can be successful parents, I don't see why Luna and I can't do just as well."

"We will be fine parents, my love," Luna told him and kissed his cheek. "Just as Ronald and Lavender are." She took a bite and shivered in pleasure.

Neville smiled, shook his head, kissed her brow, and laughed. "Only not so many." He rolled his eyes and sat the tray on the side board. "My god, they're up to three now, and it's only been five years!"

Katie snorted. "Four. She's pregnant again. I saw Ron at the Ministry a few days ago." She laughed. "He looked like he'd been hit with a beater's bat. Hopefully this one's a boy, though; can't imagine Ron and five women in one house. The poor man needs another male around."

"Four!" Neville said wide eyed. He looked at his wife. "Promise me, Luna…"

"One and done, my love," she said and kissed him. "Now, I think Katie came to do more than catch up on my condition and gossip."

"I'll just go back downstairs and finish my letter to Grand mum, then." Neville turned to Katie. "Come back again soon, Katie. Luna loves your visits."

_And so do you._ Katie thought as she watched him go down the spiral stairway. "He's a good man."

"Yes, yes he is. More than anyone guessed," Luna said in her dreamy voice. She sat back in her chair and put her snack on a plate resting on the desk. "So, what's brought you here?"

Katie paused, and she thought of what she would say next. Only she and Luna knew what Luna kept locked away. "I need it." She settled on.

Luna's demeanour changed in an instant. She wasn't angry, but she was very serious. "Why?" she asked flatly.

"As we agreed, it's to help."

"Go on."

Katie held her gaze. "Cho needs to say goodbye to Anthony."

Luna closed her eyes. "Noble." She sighed heavily and looked back at her. "I don't know, Katie."

"Luna, she looks well to everyone, but over the last two weeks I've been with her a lot. She's not just 'a little more nervous' as people like to think. She's a wreck. She has real trouble around men she doesn't know, and she's still having the nightmares."

"We all have the nightmares."

"She has them every night."

Luna nodded. "What do you intend to do?"

(###)

"Good morning, Mrs. Goldstein. May I come in?" Katie stood in the doorway of the Goldstein's terrace house in Berkshire.

"Please, Miss Bell. What brings you?"

The interior of the house was blue and white and spotless. Katie stood in the hallway, a stairway on her right leading up and a sitting room to her left. Down the hall a doorway lead to the kitchen. Katie smiled at Anthony's mother. "I was wondering if I might have a look in Anthony's room. It would be very helpful for an old friend." Katie saw Mrs. Goldstein sag. "I'm sorry to bring up the memories, Mrs. Goldstein, I really am, but Cho.."

"Cho, Cho Chang?" the older woman said.

Katie smiled. "Yes"

Mrs. Goldstein looked up at her and smiled. A few tears fell. "She made Tony very happy."

Katie drew the woman into a hug and let her own tears fall. "He never let _us_ call him that."

Anthony's room was untouched. After opening the door Mrs. Goldstein had excused herself. _She went to cry in private,_ Katie thought as she walked to his dresser and pulled a hair from his brush. "Thanks, Anthony. You'll approve." She put the hair in an envelope, and her hand went to her chin. "Hmm, Michael didn't make it either, so nobody's done this." She crossed the room, sat on his bed, and slid her hand under the mattress. "Not there. Come on, Anthony, where'd you hide it?" The night stand drawer held a variety of objects from his childhood. "No." She turned the nightstand around and smiled. A small slot held a stack of pictures. "There we are."

The first picture was taken from his perspective as he looked down on a black haired girl sucking him. Katie chuckled when the girl looked up and it was an eighteen year old Cho. _I expected some porn, but this sure is a surprise_. The next picture was Cho spread wide and diddling herself for him. The next was Cho riding him. On they went, more than twenty taken on at least three different occasions. "I'll just keep these for a while. Cho may want them some day," she said as she slipped them in her pocket. "Got any more, Anthony?" She looked around for a bit more, and even got down on her hands and knees to look on the closet floor. All she found was a half-smoked pack of muggle cigarettes.

"Okay, no nasty surprises for mum when she finally sorts this out," Katie said to the empty room. As she rose to leave she traced a picture of Anthony on the wall with her fingertips, smiled, and closed the door.

(###)

"Miss Bell?"

"Hello, Professor," Katie said, and hugged the headmistress. "You're looking well."

Minerva McGonagall smiled and looked at her with scepticism. "I am looking eighty-two, and feeling every bit of it." She gestured to a chair in her office. "Please." Katie watched her walk to her chair. Her beloved professor still had the crisp walk she remembered, but there was a weariness in her slumped shoulders that she couldn't hide. The room was filled with remembrances of Dumbledore, his silver instruments still smoked and clanked on the tables, the same desk and chair still sat by the window, and professor Dumbledore himself snoozed in his picture frame.

"What brings you back to Hogwarts on such a fine spring day?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"I'm helping a friend. I need to look in the Triwizard trophy case."

"What for?"

Katie shifted and looked Professor McGonagall in the eyes. "It's… I… "

Professor McGonagall looked at her in concern. "What is it Miss Bell?"

"Cho Chang and Oliver Wood," Katie sighed. "They're having a harder time than a lot of folks dealing with… you know… stuff."

"What sort of 'stuff?'"

"They both lost the one they loved in the war, they're both so…" She huffed, at a loss for words. "I want to help them say goodbye."

The older woman nodded. "I don't want to know any more than that, do I?"

Katie smiled at her. "Probably not."

"Well, Katie, you are a true Gryffindor. That, you have proved over and over." The headmistress picked up a parchment on her desk. "Do whatever you need; I will let Filch know you're here. Oh, and give Kingsley my regards when you see him again."

"I'll be sure and do that."

"Just a little something, Cedric," Katie said to the trophy case she stood in front of. "Come on." The robes Cedric wore during the final task hung at the back of the cabinet. His egg sat on a stand at the bottom of the case, and all around it were mementos of his time at Hogwarts. His Prefect badge, a program from the Yule Ball, his Quidditch gloves, an essay on transfiguration with a large green "O" in professor McGonagall's handwriting at the top, and a few photos of Cedric and his friends at Hogsmeade.

Katie couldn't find a hair on the robes, so she picked up a glove and shook it. Some dust poofed out of it, and then a small grey-white sliver fell to the hardwood floor. She smiled as she dropped the piece of fingernail in an envelope. "Thanks, Ced."

(###)

Cho was dressed in her standard evening attire for lounging around her flat: almost nothing. When the bell rang on her door, she was very surprised. Pulling her dressing gown tighter, Cho walked down the short hall to the front door. "Yes?" she called.

"Hi, Cho, it's me, Katie," she heard from the other side.

Katie smiled when Cho opened the door. Her gown slipped open, revealing her bare left breast and red, lacy knickers. "Mind if I come in?" she asked.

"Please."

Katie walked down the small hallway and sat on the couch. "I need to talk to you, Cho, and I need you to not be scared."

"All right," Cho said in a cautious tone. "What about?"

Katie looked at the floor and then back up to the beautiful woman. "Anthony."

Cho started to shiver and worry her hands together. "Um, I …" She shook her head. "No, no." She stood. "You should leave. Yes, that's best." She paced nervously. "Yes, you should go. I can't… I won't-" she started to shake in earnest.

Katie stood and wrapped her carefully in a hug. "Calm down," she said as she stroked Cho's back. "Calm down. You're going to like this, I'm positive."

The black haired woman shook in her arms. "I can't talk about… all l can see…" She burst into tears.

"I'm going to bring him back so you can say a proper goodbye."

Cho froze, and then drew back and looked at her. "Nothing can bring him back, you know that," she said as tears cascaded down her face.

Katie smiled knowingly. "Actually, there is one thing."

(###)

The afternoon was too bright and clear for how Katie felt. So many were dead, and more were wounded. Hagrid, her favourite professor, was lying on the grass next to the pastel blue Beauxbatons carriage as she walked past. Madam Maxime cooed over him, tending the myriad bites, cuts and burns he had sustained during the fight. _At least he's alive._ Colin wasn't, Professor Lupin and his wife weren't. Anthony, Michael, and so many others weren't, and they weren't even sure about Lavender yet. Katie snorted a grim laugh. Everyone had been nodding knowingly at each other when Harry, Ron, and Hermione had showed up with Hermione possessively hanging onto Ron's hand, but just an hour ago, when Ron had been told how badly Lavender had been hurt, he had dashed from the great hall to be with her in the hospital wing. Hermione, looking hurt and angry, had fallen into George's arms, crying. _He's the one for you anyway, Hermione._

Katie was walking without purpose or direction when she found herself at the edge of the forest. The sun was starting make her robes uncomfortable, so she decided the cool of the forest would be better. She chose a battered path and delved deeper into the woods. After ten or fifteen minutes she became aware of someone in front of her, and she quickened her pace. Around a bend in the path she saw who it was. Luna Lovegood was striding purposefully into the darkest part of the forest, and Katie sped up to follow.

After a few more minutes she started to see spider signs. The huge arachnids scared the living hell out of Katie, but she drew her wand and continued following Luna. Unconcerned with the increasing amount of webs that draped over everything around her, Luna strode on as if drawn toward something. No spiders showed themselves, and Katie was very thankful. Suddenly they came to a large clearing and Luna stopped a few yards into it.

"Accio!" she cried, and not far from where she stood a stone rose from the ground and flew to her outstretched hand. "You can show yourself, Katie. I've known you were there from the start."

Katie dispelled the dissolution and stepped forward to Luna's side. "How?"

"I felt you." Luna looked into her eyes and nodded. "Katie, we all saw many things we wish we hadn't. For instance, I witnessed Walden Macnair kill Colin Creevey."

Katie looked down, and Luna squeezed her hand. She looked back up into Luna's eyes.

"And we all did things we wish we hadn't. For instance, after Walden Macnair killed Colin Creevey, I cast _Cruciatus_ on him fourteen times in succession. I believe he was dead at twelve." Luna said it with such detached matter-of-factness that a chill ran down Katie's spine. "You are quite correct to be frightened, but we will all put away the monster we can be." She tilted her head to the side. "Unless someone makes us bring it back out."

"How…"

"I can hear them, your thoughts. I can hear a lot of things people think now. Your thoughts are fairly pleasant, many back in the hall are not. I had to leave." She looked down at the stone in her hand. "To answer the question in your mind, this is the resurrection stone." She paused and nodded. "Yes, the one from the Tale of the Three Brothers. It is one of the Deathly Hallows."

"How did you know it was here?"

"I saw it in Harry's mind. He was obsessing about it, wanting to find it and keep it safe. I made him forget his obsession, and then I came here to retrieve it."

_You can make people forget things without the Obliviate spell?_

"Apparently."

"What are you going to do with it?" Katie asked out loud, and pointing at the stone.

"Watch." Luna turned the stone in her hand.

A mist formed before them and in a swirl, became the form of a woman. She was tall, thin and blonde. Her face had large, blue eyes and she smiled at them. "Hello, my Luna, you have the stone."

Luna smiled at her mother, and a few tears slid down her face. "I wanted to see you once more, and to tell you that we have won against the Dark Lord, and to tell you that I love you."

"You have done very well, my Luna, and I love you too. How is your father?"

"Father was tortured and thrown into Azkaban, but he has been rescued and moved to Saint Mungo's, where he is recuperating. I received an owl from him a few hours ago, and I will see him tomorrow. He will be fine, but I do not intend to tell him of the stone."

Her mother smiled and nodded. "That is for the best. You are very wise, my Luna. Is there a young man?"

Luna smiled broadly. "Yes!"

Katie's head snapped to the side, and she gaped at Luna. This was a surprise.

"I heard a friend's thoughts today." Luna became dreamier than normal. "It was lovely. He was hugging me and telling me how happy he was that I survived, and I couldn't help but hear the thoughts he had about me. I was very pleased to find that he feels about me the way I feel about him. He also had some intensely sexual thoughts that I found appealing as well. I intend to seduce him tonight."

Her mother smiled. "Have you ever been with a man?"

"No. It will be the first time for both of us, but I have studied. I'm sure that with enough practice we will have as good a sex life as you and father had."

Katie was stunned. She couldn't imagine having this conversation with her mother.

Luna's mother nodded. "That is wonderful, my sweet Luna. You have grown into a strong, powerful woman, and I am very proud of you. You have more than earned your reward. Teach him well."

"Thank you, mum. I miss you." She wiped her face. "And now I feel we must say good bye."

"Yes, we should not linger, though the temptation is great. Good bye, my Luna. Love well."

"Good bye, Mum."

Luna handed the stone to Katie and her mother vanished. "I'm happy you followed me, Katie. This is too large a thing for one person alone."

Katie smiled at Luna Lovegood. How could anyone not like her? She understood what Luna meant about the stone and how important it was, but that didn't matter to her at that moment. "Yeah, I agree, but we'll talk about that later. Who is he?" she asked excitedly.

Luna smiled and blushed. She looked just like any other young woman in love. "Can you believe I am so privileged? Neville Longbottom is in love with me."

(###)

Katie looked into Cho's red rimmed eyes. "No one can know what we do here today. This is just between you and me and Anthony."

"I still don't… how?" Cho was trembling in fear and excitement.

"I am going to use Polyjuice and change into Anthony's body. Then I have something very special that will allow him to come back through the veil. I will perform a spell that allows him to use my body, and for as long as I have his form, he will be able to use it." She caressed Cho's cheek. "I brought enough of the potion to last two hours."

Cho started to speak, choked on her tears, and tried again before Katie stopped her. "I know. Go to your room and get ready for him. When you hear his voice, come back out."

Cho hugged her very hard, and sobbing, she went to her room.

Katie pulled a small necklace from her bag and hung it around her neck. The stone that hung from it was cracked and blackened. The sign of the Hallows was still clearly visible though, and thinking of Anthony, Katie spun the stone. Anthony coalesced out of the mist that formed in front of her.

"Katie?" he asked. "Why have you brought me back?"

"Cho."

He smiled. "How is she?"

"Profoundly fucked up, Tony" She shook her head. "She needs to say goodbye to you. Will you help me help her?'

He nodded. "Anything," he said in a tight voice.

"Good," Katie pulled a phial from her robes and held it up. "Polyjuice." The she pulled the envelope from her pocket, tore it open, and carefully picked the hair from it. "From your brush in your room, it's yours, right?"

"Yes, but…"

Katie smiled at him. "I know, just wait." She dropped the hair into the potion and watched as it turned a purple the colour of a sunset. "Pretty." She banished her clothes, downed the contents of the phial, and grimaced as the changes began. She gained eight inches in height almost immediately, her hair shrank back and curled, and she felt the very odd sensation of sprouting a cock. "Nice one, Anthony," she said as she stroked it and felt herself become hard. "Okay, step into me.'

"What?"

"Step into my… your body."

"That will work?"

"It will when I do the charm."

"Okay?" he said sceptically.

Katie felt a chill as Anthony occupied the same space she held. She drew her wand and waved it in front of her chest. "_Ectosymbius!"_ she said, and Anthony was there in her mind with her. "Cast _Somnus_ on me," she told him.

Anthony took control of her body and held her wand in front of their face. "Thank you so much, Katie._ Somnus Bell."_

Katie's consciousness fell away and Anthony was left alone in her body in his form. "Thanks, Katie," he whispered. He bent and picked up her outer robe from the floor, then draped it around his shoulders. It came to mid calf, but it covered him enough that he didn't feel his nakedness would be a distraction for Cho, until he wanted it to be. "Cho," he called.

The bedroom door opened slowly, and haltingly Cho stepped into the sitting room, her eyes glued to his face.

A few tears slid down his face. "Hey, Chi Chi," he said softly.

A flood of tears cascaded down her face at his use of the pet name that he had given her. She ran across the room and threw herself into his arms.

First there were more tears, then there were kisses, then her hands were inside his robe and his were on her. He swept her dressing gown from her shoulders and began lavishing kisses on every part of her he could touch. Down her neck, her shoulders, and then he knelt and took her breasts in his hands. "So beautiful," he whispered. His tongue flicked her nipples and she moaned in pleasure and desire. While he suckled her, one hand slid up her thigh to her knickers. Anthony smiled when he found her hot wet sex covered by the thin fabric.

Cho hugged his head to her chest and shuddered. "Anthony," she sighed. "I love you so much."

Anthony stood and shrugged his robe from his shoulders. With a practiced deftness, he swept his arms under her legs and around her back, and then he carried her to the couch. With tenderness and care he gently set her down and then pulled her knickers from her legs. His tongue travelled up her thigh, he spread her folds with his fingers, and then Cho gasped and shivered while he swirled his tongue over her. He knew her. He knew what she liked, he knew what brought her to breathless orgasms, and with skill and love he took her there. Her thighs clamped around his head and she screamed. He hips bucked and shook side to side, her hands clawed softly in his hair, and her breath came in huffing pants.

"Oh gods, Anthony, oh, fuck," she said, breathing hard.

He gave her a few seconds and started up again. She gasped and shuddered under him but he didn't relent. Flicking her with the tip of his tongue then bearing down and swirling over the whole of her, he brought her back to the edge in moments. Anthony grinned, moved his hand under his chin and slid his middle finger into her.

"EEeeeeIIIIIAAAHHA" she cried as a huge orgasm ripped through her. "Oh, Anthony! Take me, fuck me now!" And he did.

Anthony knelt at the edge of the couch and wrapped his arms around Cho's thighs. With a little lift he pulled her to him. "I love you, Chi Chi. I love you so." His hands were sweeping over her, her sides, her breasts, her legs, and then he found her clit and thumbed it in small rapid circles. She squealed and cursed and came again.

"Lay on the floor," she commanded. He pulled from her, rocked back on his knees and slumped sideways down onto the rug. Cho was on him seconds later. She rode him with a wild abandon, thrashing her head back and forth, her hair whirling around her. "Oh god, Anthony, it's been so long." She ground her hips on him and shook.

"Come on down here, Chi Chi," he said and pulled her down to lie on his chest. Anthony grabbed an arse cheek in each hand and rapidly thrust himself into her, pounding her.

"Oh gods, yes," she cried, and hugged herself to him as he shook her whole body with the force of his thrusts. "Come on, Anthony, go ahead, come on…"

Anthony felt himself on the verge, and with all his might he concentrated. _Germinio!_ he thought as he came.

Katie woke and looked up into Cho's face. She was crying, but she was also happy. "Thank you, Katie," Cho said, and kissed her.

"You're welcome," said Katie. "It went well."

"Very."

Katie took in her surroundings. They were in Cho's bed, wrapped in each other's arms. The late afternoon sun was throwing a shaft of light into the centre of the room. The scent of sex hung heavy in the air, and Katie smiled. "Are you going to be okay? I don't want to leave until I'm sure."

"I'll be better than okay, Katie." Cho hugged her. "I can remember him now without seeing… It was always there, in my head, every time I closed my eyes it was right there. Now it's not. I see him." She closed her eyes, smiled contentedly, and laid her head on Katie's breast. "We made love three times, we talked, we cried." Katie felt Cho hug her again. "And we were able to say goodbye."

"I'm glad," said Katie. She looked at Cho seriously. "It can't happen again."

She nodded. "I know. It doesn't need to. I'll see him again someday, and he told me to move on, to find someone. I think I can do that now." Cho kissed her again. "Thank you, my noble Gryffindor friend."

(###)

"Katie?" Oliver Wood stood in the doorway of his London flat. Her appearance at his door was completely unexpected. "What brings you here?"

She laughed to herself. "You, you big wanker. Can I come in?"

"Oh, yeah, sure," he said, and opened the door wide to let her in. "How have you been?"

_How have I been? I've been wasting my life moping over you, that's how I've been._ "Very busy," she answered.

"You look great."

She smiled at him. It still warmed her to hear his honest praise. "Just got back from two weeks on a mission in Hawaii. The job does have its side benefits."

"Not enough," he said, and motioned her to take a chair in the sitting room

Katie perched on the arm of one. "Yeah, well, that may be changing."

"Really?"

"Maybe," she said. "But that's not why I'm here."

"So why are you here?"

She looked around his flat. It showed the successful Oliver Wood to the world, but it had no soul. His awards and trophies were in a case, attesting to his success in professional Quidditch, but there were no mementos of a lover. The flat could have belonged to a priest. There wasn't a hint of anyone but Oliver. She looked at him sadly, and answered his question. "To help you and to set you free."

Oliver stepped out of his bedroom, and Cedric stood naked before him.

"Oliver," he said, and they fell together. "My brave Gryffindor."

"Oh, Ced." Oliver wrapped his arms around Cedric and pulled him into a heated kiss. His hands went to Cedric' chest and ran over the smooth, hard pectoral muscles. "Gods, I've missed you." And they were kissing again. It was hard and heated and desperate. Oliver struggling with Cedric for dominance, it was always that way. Oliver would press forward commandingly, only to have Cedric forcefully battle back to a superior position. All the while, their hands were on each other.

Somehow they had wandered into the kitchen. The back of Oliver's legs collided with the edge of the table. He smiled into Cedric's lips and spun him around. With a gentle push to the chest he nudged Cedric onto the table. Then he kissed his way down his chest, past his navel, and took Cedric in his mouth. He smiled with joy, it had been so long.

"Oh, fuck, Ollie. You are the best."

Oliver backed off a moment. "I hope I still remember how." He took him again, as far as he could.

Cedric moaned and slumped back on the table while Oliver bobbed his head. "You still 'av got it, my deepest love. Ohhhhh!" The moan was deep and throaty, and Cedric was writhing on the table. "All right, okay, your turn."

Cedric wedged himself up off the table and stood. "You have clothes on, you nasty man," he said and peeled Oliver's outer robe off him. Cedric stroked his lover through the fabric of his trousers. "Still as hard as I remember." Oliver's shirt was off in seconds, and then Cedric undid his snap and dragged Oliver's trousers and pants down in one as he knelt. "So glorious," he said, and kissed. Cedric slowly opened his mouth, and then he took him as far as he could.

Oliver gasped. He had forgotten. "Oh, fuck, Ced." Oliver shook and tangled his hands in Cedric's hair.

Cedric laughed. "I thought I might fuck _you_ first," he said and took him again.

Oliver was in heaven. Cedric had mastered him long ago, and he was showing just how well. His tongue fluttered, his fingers twiddled, and the other hand was doing magical things. Oliver felt Cedric stretching him, preparing him. "I want you," Cedric said as he stood. He pushed Oliver back onto the table and pulled his legs up to drape over his shoulders. He spit heavily into his hand and wiped it over himself, then he pressed it to Oliver's.

"I remember you liked it this way," said Cedric. He was easing himself out and then slowly filling Oliver again and again, jerking Oliver in time with his thrusts. "I want to see you come, Ollie. Want you to come all over yourself and then I want to lick it off you." He picked up the pace of his thrusts, and soon both of them were clutching at each other, pushing against each other, striving to be one.

"All for you, Ced, all for you," Oliver said, and he came hard.

"Oh, Gods I love you, Ollie," said Cedric. He plopped his hands down on the table on either side of Oliver and kissed his chest, kissing and licking. A few thrusts later and Cedric cried out and came.

Oliver felt him kissing up his body and then his face was in front of him and they were kissing properly. He tasted himself on Cedric and hugged him hard. "I love you," he said softly.

"I love you too, Ollie."

Katie woke looking into Oliver's tear lined face. "I love you," he was saying over and over. At one point in her life Katie would have died of happiness at those words from him. Now they made her a little sad. "Oliver," she said. "Oliver!" she shook him.

"Yeah, I'm… I'm here." He sniffed hard and looked at her with a fragile smile. "Thank you," he said softly.

"You going to be okay now?" she asked softly, and caressed his hair.

"Yeah. Ced… he told me to move on. He loves me and wants me to be happy." He laughed weakly. "He even suggested a few he thought might be good prospects."

"Good," she said and hugged him. They were lying in the middle of the sitting room floor, a blanket was under them, Oliver was leaning over her, and Katie looked up into his eyes. "The Division Bell is ringing for you now, Oliver."


	7. Chapter 7 The Division Bell

The Division Bell

Chapter 7

The Division Bell

_The grass was greener_

_The light was brighter_

_The taste was sweeter_

_The nights of wonder_

_With friends surrounded_

_The dawn mist glowing_

_The water flowing_

_The endless river_

_Forever and ever_

The swirl of green flames died, and Katie stepped out of the large hearth into the Ministry. A moment later Adrian was by her side. "Smile, this is a good day," he said.

"Huh, what?"

"You look so serious, lighten up," he laughed.

"It's a big deal, Adrian," she said as they walked up to the lifts.

"Yeah, it is, but we want this," he said as he pushed the call button.

She smiled. _Yes, we do._ Her arm slid around his waist. "I love you."

He smirked and her heart soared. "I love you, too," he said, and pulled her into a kiss.

The lift opened and they heard a man clear his throat. There was a pause, and then they heard, "Excuse me, please."

The lift chimed and then the voice announced, "Level One, Minister's Office, Assistant to the Minister, offices for Auror department, Foreign Relations, Goblin Relations, and Muggle Relations."

Padma Patil looked up from her overflowing desk when Katie and Adrian walked up to it. She smiled at her D.A. compatriot. "Good morning, Katie, Adrian." Her eyes drifted down to their clasped hands and back up. Padma's smile broadened. "What's new?"

"Got a meeting with the boss," said Adrian.

"Yeah, he's expecting you, but…a…" She looked at their hands again.

Katie giggled and patted Padma's hand. "Later."

"Okay, spoilsports, go on in."

Kingsley rose from his chair when they entered his office. "Katie, Adrian, welcome back." He motioned for them to take the chairs in front of his desk. "Please."

"Thank you, Minister," said Adrian. "You have our report from the Dragon Reserve and our findings?"

"Yes, and call me Kingsley, Adrian." he laughed. "You're the only one in the office who doesn't."

Adrian smiled at the minister. "Yes sir, it will be difficult, though. I've been schooled in propriety and proper manners my whole life. It's a hard habit to break."

"I'm sure you'll learn." Kingsley opened the file on his desk. "So you solved their little mystery." His eyebrows rose and he smiled. "And I read with great pleasure that we don't have to look for Delores Umbridge and Augustus Rookwood any longer." He rubbed his chin and chuckled. "Let's see, how did you put it again, Katie? Ah, here it is. 'Delores Umbridge and Augustus Rookwood were captured in possession of stolen eggs and a chick from the dragon reserve. Upon return to the reserve they attempted escape and, unfortunately,'" he stopped, laughed, and then composed himself. "'Ran afoul of the dragons.'" He laughed harder. "Beautifully said. Mind if I use that when I interview with the Prophet about this?"

Katie nodded. "Not at all, thank you, sir."

"I assume there's no evidence of them left?"

Adrian laughed. "Scorch marks."

"Well, excellent," said Kingsley. "Charlie Weasley sent me an owl this morning; I suspect you're here about that too?"

"Yes, Min… Kingsley," said Adrian. "We are."

The minister looked at his two best agents. It would be a blow to the department to lose them, but he had planned for it. He chuckled to himself as he looked at their clasped hands, that part had taken far longer than he thought it would. "Transferring to the dragon reserve, that's a big step. You're sure?"

Katie smiled at her friend. "Yes, Kingsley, very. You see, they've made us their Marshalls."

(###)

Two nights earlier, Katie and Adrian had stood in the middle of the common field. Nearly the entire population of the reserve was there. For three weeks after the downfall of Umbridge and Rookwood, Katie and Adrian had stayed at the reserve, "wrapping up," they had told the Minister. The reality was that they didn't want to leave. Katie made her visits to Cho and Oliver; Adrian, with Charlie's help, had reinforced the wards at the boundaries of the reserve, they both had written brief reports on the outcome of the assignment, and they had shared a final flight with Asgre and Kaddyl. Now a fire blazed in the centre of a rocky pit; around it were gathered the Dragon friends, and around them were gathered most of the Kind.

There was a murmuring and shuffling as Charlie walked to the fire and stood on a taller rock before it. He cast _Sonorous_ on his voice and called to the assembled Humans and Dragons. "My Friends, Asgre, the Dilys Banon and keeper of the sacred flame, calls us to assemble." He turned to Asgre. "Dilys Banon, we have come at your summons. The council and the Friends are here at your service."

Asgre regarded him with obvious care, and then she gazed upon Katie and Adrian with the same expression of fondness. The great green dragon reared on her hind legs and spread her wings wide. All around her the others of the Kind did the same. Then Asgre began to sing. The other dragons kept up a background drone while Asgre's voice carried over it all. Deep basses came from the males while lilting overtones and harmonies came from the females. As the song shook the valley, Asgre's meaning took shape in the minds of the humans.

_A wrong was done_

_A right was needed_

_A future was lost_

_A child was taken_

_To us came new friends_

_With bright minds and brave hearts_

_They learned our ways and shared our love_

_And found the future we thought lost_

_Now our new friends would return_

_to places far from Friend and Kind_

_But I, Dilys Banon, _

_would claim you for my own_

_New friends, stay, and become our marshals_

_Guard our home and be our friends eternal._

The song faded in echoes bouncing throughout the valley. Charlie stepped forward. "The Dilys Banon has chosen you for her own. Will you accept? Will you stay and become the guardians of our home and Kind, and our avengers when we are wronged?"

Katie looked at Adrian. She thought this was going to be a goodbye celebration. She'd had no idea they would ask this of her and Adrian, but she knew what her answer would be.

He smiled at her. "We will be honoured to accept," he told Charlie.

(###)

Kingsley Shacklebolt was as unlike his predecessors as possible. They would have fought very hard against losing two highly prized Aurors and investigators, but not Kingsley. "I'll be happy to sign the transfer, Adrian, Katie." He smiled at them across his desk. "I put you two together for a reason; glad it worked."

Katie looked at him, stunned. "You set us up?"

"Well… yes," he laughed. "I want to see all of you who fought in the battle,"-he turned and looked at Adrian- "and those who could have fought on the other side but chose better, to do well. There's been far too much sadness, far too much loss. I'm glad you found something."

"Thank you, Kingsley," said Katie. "Neville says there are plenty to take our place. I hope that's true."

"It is, but I do wish Mr. Longbottom would have consented to work for us, at least for a little while. He's a natural leader; you don't find that every day."

Katie smiled at the Minister. "Well, he's going to be a father soon, so I think that time has passed."

"Yes, I suppose so," Kingsley said, and picked up the stack of parchments on his desk. "As has yours. Clean out your office and go back to Wales."

They stood to leave and Kingsley shook their hands. "Thank you both, you've done well. Now get out of here and go play with Charlie's dragons."

"Yes, sir," said Katie with a smile and opened the door to leave.

She stepped out to say hello to Padma, and Kingsley quietly spoke. "Adrian."

He turned and looked at the Minister. "Yes, sir?"

The older man looked out the doorway at the two young women exchanging laughter and gossip, and he smiled knowingly at his younger friend. "Well done."

(###)

Their office, such as it was, was one small room off a dead end hallway on the fifth floor. The only up side was that Katie and Adrian got to see Harry Potter frequently when they were in their office, as his was three doors down. Adrian undid their sealing wards and opened the door. The room held one large partner desk, the walls were papered with notes and reports, and the desk was piled high with the same.

"Same old shithole," said Katie over his shoulder, and then she brushed by him into the little room.

"Yes, but it was our shithole," said Adrian. He closed the door and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.

She leaned her head back on his shoulder. "Kind of sad, leaving here, lots of memories."

Adrian grinned. He'd had an idea earlier. "Care to make a last one?" He flicked his wand over his shoulder and the door sealed. A second series of flicks and the mass of parchments and papers on the desk top stacked themselves and then flew into a cabinet. Adrian wrapped his arms around her from behind and gently pushed Katie against the now bare desk. He kissed her neck. "I always fantasized about fucking you here. You have no idea how many times I had a raging hard-on sitting across from you."

She turned in his arms to face him. "Did you?"

"Yes," he said, and kissed her. "Just like now." His hands slid up under her robes and cupped her beast through her shirt. He thumbed the nipple and it hardened. His other hand caressed her thigh as it moved up under her skirt to her dampening knickers. "I'm still going from that last flight, how about you?"

Katie smiled wickedly, pulled her wand, and did the silencing spell on the door. "Well, as you were so understanding about Cho and Oliver,"- she spun him around and shoved him onto the desk –"And you've chosen me and the Kind over career and ambition,"- she flicked her wand and manacles sprang out of the surface of the desk and bound his hands. At the same instant another set of shackles bound his ankles to the desk legs. "You've earned your fantasy," she said, and banished his clothes. He was already well hard when she took him into her mouth.

Adrian looked down into her eyes. "Vixen."

Katie hummed an "Um hum" around him then transformed her wand into a fox tail. She stroked his chest with it, then his legs, and then she brought it up to gently stroke his nethers. When he was starting to twitch she released him and stood. "Not yet," she said, and turned her back to him. Her clothes vanished and she backed into him.

Katie laughed and wiggled her arse like she had seen the hula girls do in Hawaii, a slow circle with a sway of the hips from side to side. His groan of pleasure made her giggle. She rocked forward and then back, and it was her turn to groan. "Oh, yes. Fuck, Katie, this looks so good." Adrian looked down and was enraptured. Her hair spread out across her back, her tan lines defining a sharp contrast between ivory and brown, their joining, the moans leading to squeals, and her hands grasping and clutching behind her on his hips brought him to an explosive orgasm. A few moments later she was squealing and coming herself.

"Can you banish the hardware?" Adrian asked when his breathing resumed a somewhat normal pace.

Katie laughed and collapsed onto the floor."Yuck, I'm sticky," she said and waved her wand at the chains binding Adrian.

"I'll get that for you," Adrian said. He picked up his wand, helped her to her feet, and _Scourgified _her arse.

Katie laughed and summoned their clothes back into existence. Adrian wriggled and straightened his pants under his trousers. "They never come back exactly right."

"I don't have any problems," Katie said, and drew her fingers over his chin and kissed him.

"You don't have testicles."

"Too true, my love," she said, and lifted the silencing and locking spells.

It was then that they heard the voices in the hall.

"You know I love you, and that's not the point." Katie and Adrian both recognized Harry Potter's voice.

"Then what is the point?" another male voice said.

"I am not going to another family dinner with those two until they can be civil," said Harry.

"Mum promises there will be no more incidents like last month."

"They pulled their wands!"

There was a huff. "Well…"

"At the dinner table!"

"Listen, Hermione started it with her pithy little comment on the announcement of the next baby."

"Lavender did not have to shoot back with 'Well, I suppose one Weasley cock is as good as another with you!'"

The other voice softened. "Harry, Mum will kill them if they get out of hand again, you know that. Come on, Love."

"All right, but only to get that Percy pout off your face."

There was the sound of a kiss and a door closing. Katie and Adrian looked at each other and giggled as quietly as they could for several minutes.

"Oh, that's too funny," Katie said when she could talk. "Good thing we keep secrets well."

"Well, it's good that I can. A lot of my housemates would be yelling this from the rooftops." He laughed. "You know they say there are two kinds of Slytherins, grey dragons and black serpents." He smiled. "I always thought I was a dragon. Glad I was right. You know I think Pan…" –a look of humorous panic appeared on his face- "Oh, shit!"

"What?"

He looked at her with wide eyes. "Pansy."

(###)

"She is going to be supremely hacked!" Adrian said as they approached the Hog's Head.

"Yeah, I'll do something nice for her," Katie sniggered to herself and shook her head. "I can't believe we forgot about her."

"Well, we did have a rather exciting last four months," said Adrian.

"I suppose, but still… hey look, Ab's hung the sign correctly." She pointed to the carved wooden sign bearing the Hog's Head name and symbol. "Have to take the mickey for that."

"Swept the landing too," said Adrian as he grabbed the door handle. When he opened it, they simply stood in the door way, stunned. The pub was cleaner than they'd ever seen it. The windows gleamed, the floor was clean and polished, the tables had actual cloths on them, and the glasses behind the bar sparkled. But the biggest difference was in the large man that greeted them. Aberforth was wearing a fine set of dark brown robes, his beard was neatly trimmed, and his hair was combed and tied back. Katie was struck by the resemblance between him and his elder brother. She'd never seen it this clearly before.

"Adrian! Katie!" The large man called from behind the bar. "Where have you been keeping yourselves?"

"Hey, Ab," Katie said. She and Adrian walked to the bar and looked around the pub in wonder. "What the hell happened in here?"

Aberforth laughed. "Pansy!" He laughed again. "Woman's been on a tear for the last few months." He looked at them appraisingly. "_Someone_ cast one hell of a sobriety charm on her. She tried very hard to undo it, but she couldn't. I even tried a few weeks ago, wouldn't budge."

Katie blushed. "Yes, umm, where is she?"

"In the back," said Aberforth. "When we redid the front out here, a lot of our regulars were a bit put out, so we cleared the old storage room in the back and set up a less spiffy, less lit room for them."

"Do I smell food?" Adrian asked.

"Yeah, hired a cook," he said with pride. "Just pies, sandwiches, soup and the like, but it seems to bring 'em in, plus there's the shrine." He pointed across the room to the hearth.

A brass plaque above the hearth read,

On this spot on October Nine, Nineteen Ninety Five

Harry Potter convened the first meeting of Dumbledore's Army.

"I remember," Katie said softly. "What made you put it up?"

"Pansy again. Said it would bring in more customers. She even got Hermione up here for the dedication." He looked around the pub at the tables filled with customers. "It worked. Made the society pages in the Prophet and everything." He looked at them with a gleam in his eye, leaned in, and whispered, "Good thing they don't know an actual founding member of the D.A. is here, you'd be mobbed."

The chime over the door announced another customer. Aberforth looked over at the man coming in the doorway and sniggered. "Here's another surprise for you." The man was followed into the pub by several more people.

He was tall, well dressed, and he walked directly up to them. "Hi Ab, where's Pansy?"

"In the back, Stan," Aberforth answered. It was then that Katie recognized him.

"Stan? Stan Shunpike?" she asked.

"Yeah?" he said "I know you?"

She looked at him in wonder. His hair was cut and combed, his suit was spotless, and most importantly, someone with real skills had cast the _acnius evapus_ on his face. His spots were completely gone. He actually looked quite good. "Katie Bell, I've ridden the bus a few times."

He smiled, and she saw his teeth were perfect too. "Well, it was a pleasure to have you ride with us, I'm sure. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm looking for my girlfriend."

He made to leave and Katie spluttered, "Pansy is your girlfriend?"

Stan smiled wide. "Yeah, know her, do you?"

Adrian chuckled. "You could say that."

As Stan made for the doorway to the back room Aberforth pulled a pint each for Katie and Adrian. "Pansy thought a Knight Bus stop in front of the pub would be good for business. It is," he said with a smile. "But the best thing was when she and Stan started making the arrangements, she took an interest in him. Cleaned him up right proper."

Katie looked him up and down. "You too, it seems."

Aberforth actually blushed. "Yeah, Pomona's pleased as well."

The door to the back room swung open. "Ab, we need some… oh, hello, you two," said Pansy.

"Hello, Pansy," said Katie. She looked the other woman over. She was dressed in a black, form-fitting, knee-length dress with an apron sporting a hog's head, her hair was styled and tied back, and the blotchy patches on her face and dark circles under her eyes were completely gone. "You look smashing."

"Thanks. Four months of enforced sobriety. It wasn't so much fun the first few weeks, but I've got used to it."

"Yeah, about that…" Katie looked into Pansy's eyes. "Umm…"

"It was you?" Pansy asked with a sardonic smile. Aberforth sniggered.

Adrian slid his arm around Katie's waist. "Both of us, actually."

Pansy put her hand on Katie's shoulder. "I wouldn't have said this a month ago, but thank you."

"You're welcome," Katie said, relieved. "We're here to undo it if you want."

Pansy sat on a stool and looked into the distance. "I don't know. It'd be nice to have a glass of wine with Stan." She unconsciously smiled brightly.

_You're in love! _Katie thought. "Think about it, then. You can always owl us at the reserve, we'll come straight away."

"The reserve?" asked Aberforth.

Adrian smiled at him. "Taking up dragon keeping, Ab."

The older man laughed. "Charlie's snagged you away from Kingsley? Good on him!"

"Charlie doesn't run the place, Ab. He's just our contact with the Ministry."

"Our?" Aberforth looked them up and down, noticing how comfortable Adrian and Katie were, and how she leaned into his side. He winked at Katie. "You two are in petty deep, aren't you?"

She smiled at him, rose on her toes, and kissed his cheek. "Yeah, Ab, we are. Thanks."

Pansy shook her head. "Well this has been fun, but I've the old gang in the back, and they want some fresh beer." She turned to Aberforth. "Can you load a new cask?"

"'Course, Pansy," he said, and turned back to Adrian and Katie. "Stay, have some lunch, on the house." Then he shuffled off to get another cask of his special brew.

"Have a seat," said Pansy. "In fact," –she lead them to a table by the hearth- "Here, have a seat right here under the plaque."

Katie chuckled as one of the patrons nearby looked her over and the expression of trying to place who she was formed on his face. "So what's good?" she asked Pansy as she and Adrian sat.

"I'll bring you the beer and steak pie, you'll love it." Pansy turned and disappeared into the back room.

"Pardon me," the man at the table next to them said, "You look very familiar."

"Do I?" Katie said, feigning surprise. "I must be a common type, I get that a lot."

The man's eyes went to the plaque and then back to her. A look of understanding dawned in his eyes. "You're one of them, aren't you?" he said quietly.

"It's possible," she said coyly.

The man stuck out his hand, and she shook it. "A pleasure," he almost whispered. "And thank you."

(###)

Four years later, on a fine late spring morning, Katie walked down the gravel path with Asgre by her side. An elephant-sized four-year-old scampered around them. _Owena, calm yourself._ Katie chuckled at a mother's admonishment.

"Owena, if you want to present a proper princess to the Kind you have to be more regal, like your mother." Katie said to the young dragon.

_Regal is boring. _ Owena thought to them.

_I know, my sweet child, but we are born to a different destiny, you and I._ Asgre bent and licked her chick's face, causing Owena to sputter and shake her head.

_Mum!_

Asgre laughed. _You are still my chick for several more years, Owena. Play when you can, but act properly in company._

Owena rubbed her neck against her mother. _Yes, Mum._

They reached the common field and Asgre caressed Owena with her wings. _Go and play now, my dear heart. Be good._

_Thanks, Mum, _Owena sent to them, and she was off at a mad dash toward the three other juveniles in the field. One, a Horntail male, was a full five feet taller than the rest.

"They all have done so well," said Katie. "Especially Apollo. I was very worried that he might not make it when I brought them back from Hawaii. He was hatching, and I wasn't sure he had enough heat and strength to get out."

Owena reached her friends and they wound their necks in greeting. _You and Adrianpucey did a great thing, Katiebell._ Asgre regarded her with what Katie now knew was an expression of deep friendship. _I want to ask something of you, Katiebell. I want to set a task for you, but I wish to do so in private first before I sing my request._

Katie looked at her friend in surprise. The great green dragon lowered her head and nuzzled her.

_Owena learned at hatching the best and worst of humans. You saved her from death, and she knows her friends here are devoted and kind, but I desire her to have a Friend for her very own. She will be Dilys Banon one day, and I want her to be a great queen._

"I'm sure any of the Friends would be honoured, my queen."

_I am also sure of that, but I think I have a better idea._ Asgre closed her eyes. _I wish for you and Adrianpucey to have a child. Owena will see what a human is from birth, she will know this person to the depth of her soul._ Asgre opened her eyes and looked at Katie, who staggered backwards and sat on a large rock. _Will you do this for me, Katiebell, will you do this, not for your queen, but for your friend?_

Katie hadn't thought about children for a long time, and she hadn't even considered it here at the reserve. They had a strict policy against children; it would be too dangerous for them, so every woman Friend took the birth control potion faithfully. _But if Asgre asked…_ She stood and walked to Asgre and hugged her around her neck. "I will be honoured, my queen."

(###)

Tiresias Longbottom ran through the forest, the tan flash of skin a few yards ahead taunting him. "Terrwyn!" he huffed. "Slow down!"

"Run faster, Ty," he heard from the trees she had just darted around.

She would be the death of him, but oh, what a sweet death it would be. He smiled and redoubled his pace. From up ahead he heard Terrwyn Pucey's lilting laugh; she was tough and fast , and she had lead him on a merry chase, but he was a few yards from catching her at long last. He rounded the clump of trees and ran a few yards into the clearing on the other side of them before he skidded to a stop. Terrwyn was breathing hard, resting her back against the legs of an enormous green dragon. He slapped his hand against his trousers where his wand should be, but Terrwyn was twirling it in her fingers.

"Looking for this?"

"Terr…" He couldn't speak, he was so terrified.

She laughed. "Ty, I said one day I would tell you all about my home. You know some, will you keep our secrets?"

"I.. what… yes, yes I will," he said, eyes never leaving the dragon.

_He is very handsome, for a human,_ the thought formed in his mind.

Tiresias Longbottom, son of Luna Lovegood, was nearly as sensitive as his mother, and he looked into the dragons eyes in wonder. "I heard him," he said softly.

Terrwyn laughed, and the dragon next to her snorted. "Her, Ty. This is Owena, princess of the Kind." She turned to the dragon and it lowered its head to their height. "Owena, this is Tiresias Longbottom."

_So, you are the one Terrwynpucey has chosen as mate. You should be honoured._

"Yeah, I am... what?"

Terrwyn laughed and walked to him. Even though he was still gathering his wits, he watched her hungrily. Terrwyn was the most fit girl he had ever known, and the outfit she was wearing, denim shorts and a bikini top, showed it. "I told you I was ready, I just had to discuss it with Owena." She kissed him on the cheek. "Now, there's a few things you need to know."

Terrwyn Pucey closed her eyes and spoke. "I was conceived at the request of the Dilys Banon, and I was sung into the world by the Kind. I have known them from birth, and I have heard them longer. They are as much my family as any." She opened her eyes and smiled at him. "You have your mother's gift, and I knew you would hear them, too." She took his hand and walked him to stand before Owena. "This is the daughter of the Dilys Banon, and my best friend. She has chosen a mate, and they need our help."

(###)

Tiresias' cheeks hurt, and he realized why. He was smiling very broadly, and had been for quite a long time. He and Terrwyn had mounted Owena and flown to the isle of Bardsey; there he had met Heddwyn, the dragon currently under him. Terrwyn explained that she and Owena had been coming here for years. They had gone off on an adventure when Terrwyn was thirteen and found a small colony of Greens on the island. It was there that Owena had met Heddwyn. The attraction had been immediate and unstoppable. For six years they had come as often as they could, sneaking off on "camping" trips, taking long day trips to the island, and meeting Heddwyn in various places in the hills near the reserve.

Now, at long last, Terrwyn had found a suitable partner. Owena was passionate about her desire to mate with Heddwyn. No other male Green she had met inspired the heat he did. Heddwyn was powering his way to an incredible height. The air was so thin that Tiresias was light headed and gasping, and then the song of Owena rang out. Moments later the two dragons clasped their claws together, joined, and fell. Tiresias could feel the magic coursing through the great beasts beneath him. He could feel the rippling waves of ecstasy coming from Heddwyn, and he could feel Owena, too.

Terrwyn smiled at him from her perch on Owena. The moonlit ocean was coming up fast, and she nodded to Tiresias. _HEDDWYN! _ He shouted in his mind.

Tiresias had read some, and his mother had told him more. He still thought back on that conversation with embarrassment; however, what she had told him was coming in very handy. Terrwyn was wriggling under him, his head was clamped between her thighs, and she was coming hard. "If you are the first, you must be careful, gentle and patient," his mother had said_. _ He had been.

When he and Terrwyn had dropped to the ground near Heddwyn's lair, the Mating Magic was in full force, and the sight of her tanned, naked body was not helping at all. The night was warm, and while the dragons had curled up in Heddwyn's cave and promptly fallen asleep, the two young lovers had fallen onto their pile of clothes. Terrwyn had tried to mount him right then, but he stopped her. "Wait; let me help you get ready."

"I am ready, Ty," she said breathlessly, grinding her hips against him and rubbing him along her folds.

"Just, oh, gods!" She grasped him and stroked it. "Just let me do a few things, okay?"

"If you want," she said in a sultry way.

"You want it too, trust me."

"I do, Ty."

He laid her back on the soft peat and drew his fingers lightly over her centre. Then, with great tenderness and care he ran his tongue over her, then in her. The taste of her was intoxicating and he smiled at the memory of his father's admonishment, "Once you've licked pussy you'll never give it up, trust me son." He smiled again at the memory of how red in the face his father had become after saying it. "Make her come twice before… yeah," he had added. "She'll love you for that."

And so she was coming for the second time. Her long, jet black hair thrashed back and forth, and her fingers fisted his hair. His hands were on both of her breasts, lightly stroking and pinching her nipples as his father had told him to do. "Oh, Ty," her hips bucked against him. "I want you, I want you now!"

He couldn't take it any longer. She giggled at his tousled blond hair as he made his way up her body, kissing every few inches. He paused at her breasts and took in the glorious sight of her. She was breathing hard, almost panting, and she was squirming below him. He could feel her wet heat against his thighs. "Ty," she said, want colouring her voice.

And then he was in her, just a bit. "More," she panted and pushed against him. She was so tight and hot, he knew he wouldn't last but he swore he'd do his best. She pushed against him again and he half fell onto her, sheathing himself. He heard her gasp and felt her clench around him.

"Are you okay, Terr?" he asked, concerned.

Terrwyn smiled at him "Yes. Yes, very." She shivered.

"What was that?" he asked.

"A little one, let's go for another big one."

It took a few moments to get the rhythm, and another few to find the pace, but then they were in sync, working their bodies together. All too soon Tiresias felt the impending release. "I'm going to come, Terr. Oh, gods!"

She reached between them and stroked her clit while he kept plunging into her as he came. She could feel his warmth filling her, and then her world shattered into crystal sugar shards, and she was laughing and crying and hugging him with all her might.

(###)

A woman stood on a cliff overlooking the Irish Sea. Behind her, the little village of Uwchmynydd slept on. In the distance she had watched two huge shapes thrust themselves up into the night, and then fall back out of the sky, over and over. Now the sky was clear once more. A small smile formed on her face and she turned to her companion. "You approve?"

_Yes, my dearest Friend. Owena has chosen well. And you?_

"Oh yes, Terrwyn could do far worse than Tiresias. You don't think they're too young?"

_No, friend Katiebell, I do not. Heddwyn courted Owena for almost as long as Kaddyl courted me, and yours is of age. Her young man has pursued her for a long time, you approve of him, and I believe she is in love with him._

Katie nodded. "Yes, she is." She laughed. "So, when are we going to tell them we know?"

_I do not believe that we should. Let them have their secret; they need not know we've been following them for years._

Katie smiled up at her very best friend. She drew a small wooden cask from her bag and set it on the ground. Then she pulled her wand from her pocket. "_Engorgio,"_ she said, and the cask grew to barrel size. "The Macallan" was burned into the side of the barrel. With a second wave of her wand, the top of the barrel vanished. She pulled a pint mug from her bag, dipped it into the amber liquid, and scooped it full. Asgre grasped the barrel and her claws sunk into the wood. She raised her mug and Asgre raised her barrel. "To our children," she said, and took a long draw.

_Our children!_ Asgre said in her mind. The great dragon took a five gallon swig from the barrel of Scotch whiskey, and she purred.

_It is always tolling, all around us, all the time, _Katie thought. "And to the Division Bell," she said, and took another draw from her mug.

Asgre raised the barrel. _The Division Bell!_


	8. Chapter 8 Extras and deleated scenes

The Division Bell

Extras

Part 1: Deleted scenes

1

Are you kidding?

"Hey, Charlie, how's George doing?" Katie asked as they walked toward the Ironbelly area of the reserve. "I haven't seen him in…must be two years now."

"Well enough, I suppose," he answered. "Getting married and having a kid kind of set him right."

"I can't imagine…" she shook her head. "How are you?"

"Oh, I miss him," he replied, touching his arm where the tattoo bearing his family's names was. "But he's always here, and here." He put his hand over his heart.

"Yeah." She nodded, and then looked at him, bemused. "You know, I never see you go home. We do get days off, and Surrey's a hop and a skip from here. I'd have thought you'd be home every weekend the way Fr… the way the boys talked about your Mum's cooking."

"Are you kidding?" He turned and looked at her with a half amused, half horrified look. "You've never been to a Weasley family dinner have you?"

"No."

He laughed. "It can be…dramatic." He laughed again.

She smiled. "Ahh, sibling rivalry still going strong, eh?"

"Hardly," he chuckled. "No, it's the girls. Percy seems to be the only one who got it right and, well…"

"Yeah, I hadn't really thought about that part. Ron and George's wives…"

"Don't forget the French one."

She laughed. "How could I?" She shook her head. "Yeah, they don't mix well, do they?'

He looked at her sideways. "You have a knack for understatement."

2

Do you, Pansy Parkinson

"Who gives this woman into holy matrimony?" Pomona Sprout asked the audience.

Aberforth Dumbledore stood beside her. "I do, happily."

Pansy smiled at her boss and best friend as he placed her hand in Stan's. To her right, Katie Bell, one of the last people on earth she would have thought would be her maid of honor, looked on and smiled herself. Pansy glanced back into the small church of Hogsmeade. Hogskirk was old, small, and perfect. It held everyone she had invited, and surprisingly they had all come. She chuckled to herself as she turned and faced Stan, remembering the conversation she had had with the occupants of the front row on her side.

"She is my maid of honor and you will be nice!" she told them. "No wands!" she had said pointedly to Millicent Bulstrode. "And no snide little remarks masked as compliments either," she told Theodore Nott. "And especially no digs about the war." She told them all, "It's over, and that moldy, troublemaking, piece-of-shit Riddle lost! So get over it!"

There had been a time in the not too distant past that they would have laughed at her. She wouldn't have been able to aim accurately, or even draw her wand, but that time had passed. Pansy scared the hell out of them now. She was as fast and as ruthless as ever when pushed, and Pansy was in no mood to be pushed on her wedding day, so she made it plain to her former housemates what kind of behavior she expected from them.

She chose Aberforth to give her away, as he was the closest thing to a father that she had now. Her own father had been murdered by the Death Eaters for not participating in their takeover of the Ministry, and her mother had been driven to insanity by none other than Bellatrix Lestrange in the same manner as the Longbottoms had. They even shared adjacent beds in the ward at St. Mungo's, which accounted for Neville and Luna's presence on her side. A small, blonde head of hair was just visible in the swaddle Luna held in her lap.

The Parkinson's family fortune had been spent by Riddle in his ill-fated attempt at building an empire, and that was why Pansy had taken the job at the Hog's Head. She smiled back at her boss; he'd saved her life, and she loved him as much as her own father.

"Stanley Shunpike," Pomona said, "Do you take this woman, Pansy Parkinson, to be your wife? To keep her and protect her, to honor her and cherish her, to love and be loved by her, as long as you both shall live?"

Stan gazed into the eyes of the woman he so loved. He still looked slightly amazed at his good fortune. "I do, I absolutely do."

A few titters sounded in the audience.

Pomona turned to Pansy. "Do you, Pansy Parkinson, take this man to be your husband? To keep him and comfort him, to honor and cherish him, to love and be loved by him for as long as you both shall live?"

Pansy smiled. "With all my heart, I do."

All of her old enemies that were now friends, who sat in the audience, were struck by how beautiful she looked when she smiled at Stan. "She never looked that stunning at school," Hermione whispered to George. In front of her Harry chuckled. They were sitting on Stan's side along with many of the Knight Bus patrons and Stan's family.

On Pansy's side, Adrian sat next to a heavily pregnant Cho Chang. Rumors about who was the father of the child abounded in the community, but Cho wouldn't say. Adrian, Katie, Luna, and Neville knew, but they would never tell. Neither would Mrs. Goldstein. After Cho discovered Anthony's final gift to her, she had gone to Mrs. Goldstein. With Luna by her side, she told the grandmother of her child about the miracle of his creation. When Anthony Goldstein Jr. was born less than a month after Pansy's wedding, the two women wept and rejoiced.

The rest of Pansy's side was filled with her friends from the Hog's Head and Hogsmeade, some of her class mates, and sticking out like a fire in the crowd, Charlie Weasley. "You're stuck now, Stan!" he said from his chair, and the crowd giggled.

"Happy to be, Charlie!" Stan called back to his old classmate.

Pomona tapped her foot and smiled at the two men. "If you're quite finished, there's a bit more." Another titter ran through the crowd, and Pomona continued. "The giving and receiving of rings is a long tradition, and we will keep it here. Stan, do you have a gift for your bride?"

Stan's best man, Ernie, pulled a plain gold band from his pocket and handed it to the groom. Trembling slightly he slid the ring onto Pansy's finger. "With this ring I pledge my love forever. Thank you, Pan, you've made me happier than I've ever been, than I ever thought I could be."

Pansy held out her hand and Katie put another plain gold band in it. "Stan, you are my one true love," she said as she pushed it over his large knuckles. "I never thought I'd find love after… after everything, but there you were. Thank you for loving me."

A loud sniff sounded from Aberforth. Katie looked over at him and saw that large man dabbing at the corners of his eyes. _She's the daughter you never had, isn't she, Ab?_

"Witches and wizards," said Pomona loudly. "As Pansy and Stan have made their pledges and exchanged rings, I now pronounce them husband and wife." She looked at the couple in front of her. "Well?"

Stan didn't need any more encouragement. With a grand smile he drew Pansy into a kiss.

"All right, Stan!" his brother shouted from the front row. His outburst was followed with laughter and applause.

"Pansy, I have gift for you," Katie said quietly. They were standing together at the head of the reception line next to the bar in the Hog's Head, the last of the guests having just passed them.

The dark haired witch, still in her wedding costume, turned to face her friend. "Something you want to give me in private?" she asked astutely.

Katie smiled, "Yes."

"I could use the loo anyway," Pansy said. She rose on her toes and kissed her husband's cheek. "I'll be right back, Stan."

He turned and the joyous smile he had worn all day shown on his bride. "Just don't run off, Mrs. Shunpike," he said cheekily.

She kissed him soundly. "Never."

Katie motioned to Adrian, and they followed Pansy to the back room of the Hog's Head. She led them through another door that let into the office and beyond it the private loo. As they entered the office Katie touched Pansy's shoulder. She turned and found Katie with her and Adrian's wands clutched in her hand. Adrian's hand wrapped around Katie's and they raised their wands and pointed them at Pansy. "Ready?" Katie asked with a smile.

"I…" said Pansy, looking conflicted.

"We've talked to Ab," said Adrian. "If he even gets a hint that you're backsliding we'll be here in a flash."

Pansy nodded and smiled. "Okay."

Adrian straightened. "One, two, three…"

"_Finite!"_

3

Sung into the world

_Lost in thought and lost in time_

_While the seeds of life and the seeds of change were planted_

Katie pried herself off the cot, Adrian helped her walk a few steps, and she leaned against Asgre's leg. _Producing an egg is far less troublesome,_ Katie felt from her friend. The sentiment was wrapped in humor.

"Lucky you," Katie said, and groaned as another contraction made her double over. Ariadne lowered her head to near the ground and looked at Katie. _Is there great pain, Friend Katiebell?_

Katie straightened and walked to Ariadne. "Yes, some," she said as she laid her hand on Ariadne's cheek. "But women humans have endured it before me, and so will I. Ohh." She leaned on Ariadne. "They're close now. It'll be soon."

Asgre nodded and reared on her hind legs. A loud trumpet sounded through the valley as Asgre sang the call. _To me, Dragoness, to me. The time has come._

_They will come quickly?_ Owena asked her mother as Asgre settled back to earth.

_Yes my child. The Dragoness are required to come when we call._ Katie could feel the love coming from Asgre. _It is one of the powers of the Dilys Banon._

_Terrwynpucey is afraid, _Owena sent to her mother.

_Comfort her then, my heart of hearts. Send to her that her greatest friend awaits her arrival,_ Asgre told her daughter.

Owena crept close to Katie and laid a whisker across Katie's round belly. _Have no fear, my truest friend, the world is wonderful. Your mother and mine await you._

The shape of a very small hand shown on Katie's belly where Owena's whisker lay.

_She knows, she hears me, Mum, _Owena thought gleefully.

A great rushing surrounded them, a wind blew from every direction, and then the ground shook as more than three dozen Dragoness landed in the field around them. The females of the Kind spread in a tight circle around Asgre, Ariadne, Owena, Adrian, and Katie. Leslie, a Hebridean and trained healer, strode onto the common field from the Friends compound.

She made her way through the dragoness and faced Asgre. "I heard the call, my Queen," she said to her. Then she turned to Katie. "It's time?'

"Yeah, less than a minute aparARRT! OH, Fuck!" Katie grabbed the other woman's shoulder and squeezed hard.

Leslie smiled. "Let's have a baby, then." She placed her hand on Katie's belly. "Your Friends and the Kind are anxious to meet you, Terrwyn," she whispered, and then looked at Owena. "One in particular."

The Kind closed around them, shielding them from the world with wings and strong scales. Asgre, the great Dilys Banon, joined claws with her sisters and let her magic flow. The dragoness started to weave back and forth to a slow rhythm, then they raised their heads to the stars, and they sang. It was joyful, and it was mournful, and Katie was swept up in the swirl of magic and dragonsong. The melody sounded throughout the valley, and the other Friends emerged from their cabins and the common building to gather around the dragoness. Charlie and Alice joined hands, and all around them the other friends did the same. The humans spread around the circle of the Kind in pairs and small groups, and then they too began to sing.

Everyone in the valley, human and Kind, sensed a great magic building. In the distant lairs and rookeries the bulls, fledglings, and adolescents felt an irresistible pull. In a vast rushing of wings they took flight and soared down onto the common field to gather around the humans and dragoness. They were enveloped in the immense swirl of magic, and they added their song to it.

The entire population of the reserve was singing in the common field.

Katie could feel them all. She could feel Asgre directing the Kind, she could feel Owena comforting Terrwyn, she could feel Adrian's strong hand in hers, she could feel the unconditional love for her child from everyone, and she could feel Terrwyn. They were ready.

Katie took her place on the delivery cot Leslie had transfigured out of a normal one from the compound. At the next contraction Leslie felt her, sliding her fingers over her and into her. Katie smirked at the intimacy and casualness of her healer friend. And then another contraction made her howl like Lavender on a full moon. "I want to push," she told Leslie when she could talk again.

"Okay, you're effaced and dilated, let's do it." Leslie turned to Asgre. "Now, my queen."

The dragoness song ramped up in volume and intensity. Quavering ripples sounded throughout the strange melody, and then the bulls joined the chorus. Thunderous basses counterpointed the dragoness, and sprinkled in throughout the song were the trills of the young. Owena was producing a high counterpointed melody to her mother's as she too weaved, eyes closed in a trancelike dance.

"TERRWYN!" Katie screamed as she bore down and pushed with the contraction.

Adrian's eyes crossed from the pain. He'd have Leslie look at it later, but his wife might have just broken his hand.

"We have a crown," Leslie yelled. Her face appeared in front of Katie's. "Next one give it all you have, okay?"

"Yeah, okay, I… AIIEEEEE!" Katie pushed with all her might.

The valley shook with an incredible amount of pure sonic volume. The bulls long thrumming bass vibrated everything, from the stones on the path to the walls of the buildings, and many Dragon Friends found things from shelves on the floors when they returned to their cabins. The dragoness song floated over the bulls in a spectacular crescendo, and above all of it Owena sang out a welcome as her friend emerged into the world.

"We have a little girl," Leslie shouted at Katie and Adrian, trying to be heard over the song that had turned spirited and joyful.

Adrian read her lips and relayed it to Katie. Then Terrwyn Pucey was placed in her mother's arms. The huge magical field that surrounded the residents of the reserve pulsed perceptively with Terrwyn's breathing, and Katie smiled down into her daughter's closed eyes. "You are the chosen of the Kind, my darling." She laid her hand on Terrwyn's head and held the other high over her head. Asgre and Ariadne each lay a whisker in her hand, and Owena laid a whisker into Terrwyn's outstretched hand. The tiny fist closed, and the field collapsed in on itself to become a blinding white ball of energy hovering above the center of circle. Another crescendo sounded in the song, and the ball of light dropped straight down and into Terrwyn Pucey.

The tiny newborn opened her eyes and joined the song.

It wasn't a cry, it was a simple note along with the rest. A burst of magic flowed out from the small group surrounding Katie and Terrwyn, spreading through the Kind and Friends, and then the song was one of celebration, and Katie felt love from all sides pouring into the small group of dragons and humans in the center of the circle. One by one the dragoness leaned in and stroked Terrwyn with their whiskers; even the Vipertooth females were gentle and delicate as they bonded with the newborn.

Owena lay half curled around the cot, eyes closed and enraptured, her whisker still gripped in Terrwyn's hand. _She will hear us always_, Asgre sent to Katie, Adrian and Leslie. _And she will know us even better than you, my Friends. We name her the Dilys Wyn, the true companion, for she now carries a part of us in her._

As each dragoness finished, she backed away to allow others to come forward to bond with and bless the child. When all the dragoness had taken their turn, the bulls came forward and did the same. _I give you my fire whenever you have need of it,_ Kaddyl sent as he stroked his daughter and her dearest friend with his whiskers.

_I give you my claws,_ Atlas sent.

_I give you my vigilance, _Wu Tsi, Si Lyn's mate sent. For most of the Kind, sleep was second only to mating as their favorite activity, but male Fireballs slept rarely. They were nearly always awake and alert.

On and on it went. Every male of the Kind came forward and gifted Terrwyn. Then at last the young crept carefully to Owena's side. They lay their whiskers on Owena, and another great burst of magic flowed from the young dragons into Owena and Terrwyn.

Terrwyn squirmed in her mother's arms and gave a mighty yawn. Her tiny fist released Owena's whisker, and Leslie reached in between Katie and Owena to cut the umbilical cord. She summoned a bowl of warm water and a flannel from the infirmary, and set about cleaning Terrwyn. A few minutes later she delivered the placenta. _That was far easier than producing Terrwynpucey, _Asgre thought.

"Yes, my queen," Leslie said. "But Katie has had a very hard day, and I think now everyone should get some sleep." She turned to Adrian. "Nice job of staying upright, by the way. Let me see your hand."

"Huh, what?" Adrian said. He had been remarkably quiet throughout the whole affair. It was all just so intense that he had nothing to add. Plus, he was in a state of minor shock.

Leslie laughed. "I saw that look when she crushed your hand. Here." She squeezed Adrian's hand and he jumped in pain.

"Ouch!"

Leslie nodded, and cast the healing charm on his hand. "Better?"

Adrian managed a nod. "Yeah."

Leslie shook her head and cleaned Katie, who was on the verge of passing out. "Go ahead, go to sleep, Katie. Adrian, the Kind, and I will keep watch."

Katie nodded, eyes closed, and in moments her breathing became deep and regular. "And you, Little Spark," Leslie said, giving Terrwyn the nickname that would follow her for years, "You need sleep, too."

Terrwyn yawned widely again as Leslie swaddled her and placed her in Katie's arms. Then Leslie conjured a cot for Adrian, and watched as he too lapsed into unconsciousness in moments. She thought of casting the warming charm on them, and then laughed to herself at the absurdity of the thought. All around her the Kind were settling down to sleep in the common field. Their combined body heat would keep the humans warm even if it began to snow, which in mid April was unlikely at best. If it began to rain, Asgre could simply cover them with a wing.

_Thank you, Mum, _Owena sent to her mother, and she rubbed her neck against her mother's.

_You are very welcome, my heart of hearts. Terrwynpucey will be a great friend to you and the Kind. Perhaps she will even be a new kind of human, we will see. We imparted a great amount of The Magic Of The Kind into her. She will know us as well as we know ourselves, perhaps better. You and she will have a long time to explore this special bond we have created here today. _Owena felt her mother's warmth and love through_ their_ bond. _Now, my sweet daughter, sleep calls us._ And without further ado, Asgre, the great Dilys Banon, coiled herself around the humans and her chick. She nuzzled Owena once and fell fast asleep.

All throughout the common field Owena could see the others of the Kind doing the same. Her father and all but one of his friends followed her mother into that land most loved by the Kind. As Owena herself felt sleep dragging her into its bliss, she looked at Wu Tsi. The proud male Fireball nodded to her and resumed scanning the sky. _Welcome to the world, Terrwynpucey. Thank you for being._ Owena laid a whisker across Katie and Terrwyn, sighed contentedly, and joined them in their dreams.

4

The story of Aldwyn and Meudwen, the first Friends.

_And with these words I can see_

_Clear through the clouds that covered me_

_Just give it time then speak my name_

_Now we can hear ourselves again_

Terrwyn Pucey hurtled across the common room, and launched her four year old body into the lap of one of the Friends. "Story time, Uncle Charlie!" she said loudly.

Charlie smiled at Adrian and Katie sitting on a bench nearby, and Adrian waved his hand in acquiescence. Terrwyn had decided that Charlie was the best storyteller this month. Last month it had been Albert, and the month before it was Leslie Anne. He smiled down at the little girl snuggling into his lap with her blanket. "What story tonight, Little Spark?" he asked, although he knew the answer.

"Tell the story of the first friends, Aldwyn and Meudwen."

Charlie heard the scraping of bench legs as many of the Friends turned to face him. He smirked at them and hugged the little girl. Alasdair waved his wand at the lamps and they dimmed. "Seven hundred years ago the Kind were friendless and alone." he said, and let the tale sweep him up. "Then one day, not far from here, Aldwyn and his wife Meudwen were fishing in Llyn Arenig Fach. Aldwyn had just cast out his line into the water when a great crash sounded from the lake. He and Meudwen looked out across the llyn to see two of the Kind sinking into the water. Unthinking and unafraid, Aldwyn and Meudwen cast the summoning charm, and with great effort, brought the two dragons to shore."

Terrwyn had already closed her eyes and was smiling along with the story while she cuddled into her blanket. "That was Urien and Tegwedd, Owena's great grandparents," she said without opening her eyes.

Charlie smiled and chuckled. "Do you want to tell the tale?"

"No, you're best."

Titters sounded from all around, and Charlie smiled at the Friends. This precious child belonged to everyone. She knew her mother and father were Katie and Adrian, but she had twenty-four doting aunts and twenty-four overprotective uncles who would literally walk through fire for her. "Thanks, Little Spark, I'll keep that in mind next month when you're in someone else's lap. Now, where were we? Oh yes. Aldwyn and Meudwen found they had two Welshies before them. They could have killed them for their meat and skins, but Aldwyn and Meudwen had hearts. They levitated the two dragons to dry land and cast the warming charm on them.

"Aldwyn and Meudwen were good people."

"Yes they were, Little Spark, very good." He winked at his fellows and continued. "The dragons were hurt and confused when they awoke. They were not accustomed to human help and used fire on the two people, but Aldwyn and Meudwen were powerful and shielded themselves. When the dragon's fire was spent, and Aldwyn and Meudwen approached again, the great Queen Tegwedd regarded them with uncertainty. Humans had always been a danger to the Kind."

"We didn't know," Terrwyn said quietly.

"We do now, Little Spark. We do now." Charlie shifted her in his lap and continued. "Queen Tegwedd wondered to Urien why the two humans would help their enemies, and to her great good fortune, Meudwen heard her."

"Meudwen!" Olaf said, and held up his mug in a toast. Around the room many mugs were raised.

Charlie smiled. "For Meudwen was sensitive, and she could hear people even when they didn't talk. That was why she and Aldwyn lived far from others. People feared her, and so she also knew the Kind's torment. Aldwyn was shocked when his wife handed him her wand and walked to the dragon unarmed. 'I am Meudwen, and I would be your friend,' Meudwen told Queen Tegwedd. The Queen of the Kind had never seen a human so brave. With a sweep of her claws she could have wiped her from the earth, but Queen Tegwedd stayed her hand."

"Queen Tegwedd!" Leslie Anne said, and held her mug aloft.

"Queen Tegwedd" echoed around the room.

Charlie nodded at his friends. "'I am queen of the Kind' Queen Tegwedd told Meudwen. 'Why do you not fear us? Why do you not kill us?' she asked, and Meudwen answered, 'We are not as those you have met before. They have never heard you, never felt you. We are different from them, and we are not so different from you.' With that answer Queen Tegwedd began to understand that there were many kinds of people."

"She was very smart, like Owena." Terrwyn said, almost asleep.

"Yes, Little Spark, just like Owena," he whispered. "Queen Tegwedd then decided to test Aldwyn and Meudwen. 'What would you do to show your friendship?' she asked the humans, and Meudwen answered, 'Anything we can, my Queen.' Queen Tegwedd was pleased, and she showed them her spurs. 'We have these for defending ourselves, but in age they become a trouble and a source of pain,' she told Meudwen. Then Queen Tegwedd showed Meudwen where the spurs made a hurt on her side when she tucked her legs to fly."

Terrwyn rolled over in Charlie's lap and muttered, "They'd never been trimmed." Charlie was sure the little girl was nearly asleep, but he continued. "That's right, Little Spark, they'd never had their spurs trimmed. Meudwen called to her husband and Aldwyn stepped to her side. Then Meudwen took up her wand and trimmed the spurs of one of the Kind for the first time. When she finished trimming Queen Tegwedd's spurs and had healed the hurts, Aldwyn turned to face Urien. Aldwyn was a brave and true Gryffindor, and he strode to Urien's side. Though they could not talk to each other in the way Queen Tegwedd and Meudwen could, they understood one and the other. Aldwyn trimmed Urien's spurs, healed his hurts, and then noticed that many pests had taken refuge in the dragon's scales."

"Ugh, dragon ticks, I mmbh…" muttered Terrwyn.

Charlie shook in a silent laugh. "Aldwyn cast cleansing charm after cleansing charm on Urien until all the pests were gone, and Urien was pleased. Then he did the same for Queen Tegwedd. 'How can we help you, new friends," the dragons asked Aldwyn and Meudwen. 'We want only your friendship," Meudwen told Queen Tegwedd, and the Dilys Banon knew it to be true."

"Queen Tegwedd and her mate, Urien stayed with Aldwyn and Meudwen for many days after, learning one about the other. Then Aldwyn had an idea, for he could not converse with the Kind as his wife could, and he desired to. Aldwyn was first to take the mark, first to declare himself Dragon Friend, and the first to ride. Aldwyn and Meudwen told all their secrets to Queen Tegwedd and Urien, about the magical world, about the Muggles, and about themselves. When they had finished Queen Tegwedd and Urien decided they could trust Aldwyn and Meudwen with their secrets, and so they told Aldwyn and Meudwen about the love of the Kind and its danger."

Terrwyn was clearly asleep, but Charlie continued for the rest of his friends. "Queen Tegwedd and Urien told them of the peril of mating, and the joy. They told of how so many of their friends had died, crashing to the earth in a lovers embrace, how they themselves had almost died in the attempt to bring more of the Kind into the world, and Queen Tegwedd and Urien wept."

Charlie looked up from the sleeping girl to grim faces and nodding heads. He smiled. "But Meudwen would not be detoured from her quest to help the Kind. One day she came to Queen Tegwedd and asked, 'My queen, we would fly with you, Aldwyn and I. We would fly with you in your mating and wake you from the bliss before you fall to earth. Will you allow this?' Queen Tegwedd and Urien agreed, and that night was the first flight of Kind and Friends."

Charlie stood with the sleeping girl in his arms. "And that is how the Dragon Friends came to be, Terrwyn." He kissed her forehead and handed her to Adrian. "Good night, Little Spark, dream big."

5

The Meeting

Terrwyn raised her hand. "Yes, Miss Pucey," Neville Longbottom said with a smirk, "I thought you might have something to say on this topic."

They are called "The Kind, sir."

He smiled. "Only by the Dragon Keepers, why is that?"

Terrwyn smiled sweetly. "It's a secret, but I can say, 'Because they are.'"

"Yes, Miss Pucey, I've heard that one before, too." He laughed. "So what _Kind_ of dung is this?"

"Ironbelly," she said instantly.

The rest of the class sniggered, and Neville raised his hand. The class quieted. "She's absolutely correct, ten points to Ravenclaw. And this one?" he asked, holding up another basket of dragon dung.

"Short Snout, sir," was the immediate reply.

"Another ten, very good, Terrwyn." He looked at the class, and asked her, "How did you know?"

Terrwyn stood by her desk. "Ironbelly dung is dense, holds together well and, as you can smell, not as pungent as the Snout's. The Snouts eat primarily reindeer, so there are little bits of antler and bone in it. See those white and brown flecks amid the black, that's the bone and antler material."

Neville smiled. "Twenty more." He turned to the black board and waved his wand across it. The chalk leapt from the tray and began writing. "Everything Terrwyn has just said, plus information on all the other species' dung, will be on the board. Copy it down and condense it into three sheets by tomorrow," he said, and smiled to himself at the groans from the class. "And just so we don't have anybody taking advantage of our resident dragon expert, Terrwyn, you are excused from this assignment." Before the outrage could build, Neville loudly added, "You will, however, report to the greenhouses after dinner for an extra credit assignment."

"Yes, Professor," she said as she sat.

"Oh, don't think it's a punishment. It's nothing you haven't done before."

She nodded. "Yes, Professor Longbottom."

It was full dark with no stars as Terrwyn made her way back to the greenhouses after the evening meal. Professor Longbottom had been right to make her come. The questions hadn't stopped from the time she left the Herbology classroom to her hasty exit from the great hall. Her holly wand with one of Owena's whiskers in the core lit the path as she walked from the courtyard to the greenhouses. Light streamed from greenhouse one, so she entered. A tall boy with a shock of unruly blond hair sat reading a book at one end. She walked up to him.

"Hi, I'm Terrwyn Pucey. Professor Longbottom told me to report here after dinner," she told the boy. He appeared to be a fifth or sixth year. The young man looked up, smiled, and she recognized his features immediately. Even though she hadn't met him, she knew who he was. All the girls had talked to her about _this_ particular boy. They were right, Tiresias Longbottom was astoundingly good looking, and it wasn't lost on Terrwyn.

"Ty Longbottom, a pleasure," he said, and held out his hand. "So you're Terrwyn Pucey, the 'dragon girl', eh?"

Terrwyn rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that's me." She took his hand and an electric shock passed between them.

Tiresias looked at their clasped hands and laughed. "You've got a little spark there."

Terrwyn released his hand, and she blushed at his accidental use of her childhood nickname.

He cocked his head to the side. "Really, it was your nickname?"

_So, you are sensitive like your Mum, _she thought_._ Terrwyn had met and studied with his mother several times, developing and expanding the bond between Owena and herself, but Tiresias was either absent or at Hogwarts on those occasions.

"Yeah, but I'll pull back. Mum says it's not polite."

"It's not, but I'll forgive you," she said with a shy smile. "Why are _you_ here?"

"Same as you, ducking questions."

She looked at him, bemused. "What questions? Doesn't everyone know everything about you already?"

He laughed. "Yeah, but it doesn't matter. They ask all the time anyway. 'What is your dad really like? Is it true your Mum spent four months as a prisoner of Scorpius' dad? You really know Harry Potter?'" he laughed, and shook his head. "It's never ending, especially from the girls."

She chuckled. "You _have_ looked in a mirror, haven't you?"

He shook his head. "Yeah, I don't see it. They all think I'm handsome just because of who my parents are."

Terrwyn snorted, and intentionally sent as hard as she could, _You couldn't be more wrong, Ty._

He looked at her in mild shock. "Well, there's a bit more to you than meets the eye, isn't there?"

"She has her secrets just like we do, son," Neville said from the doorway. "And some are very important." Neville grinned. "Particularly to you two," he muttered under his breath. Then he looked at his charges. "Tonight we sort the delivery from the reserve, shouldn't take but a half hour or so."

"Why do you need me for that, sir?" Terrwyn asked.

"Oh, I don't really. But it does go faster with extra hands, plus Ty needs the break and the unflattering company. Besides, as I said in class, I don't want them cheating off you, and I don't want you to be put in a position where you have to be firm about the secrets." He turned and walked toward the rear door of the greenhouse. "I'll be right back."

Tiresias looked at Terrwyn. "It's tough being unique around here." He smiled. "I had the Weasleys to help me when I started." He cocked his head to the side. "How 'bout I help you?"

Terrwyn looked at him. "What do you mean?"

He shrugged. "Well, like I said. Being unusual means some folks will want to be your friend just because of who you are, and some will dislike you for the same reason." He looked at her quizzically. "You know any of the Weasleys?"

"Just Uncle Charlie," she said with a smile.

He chuckled. "Well the only one left here is Althea; she's Ron and Lavender Weasley's youngest daughter." He shook his head. "A Slytherin Weasley, who'd have thought?"

"My dad is Slytherin."

"Oh, don't get the wrong idea. I know Slytherin doesn't mean evil. No, no, it's just that all of them have been Gryffindors, like me, since – well, forever."

She nodded. "The hat considered both, but then it put me in Ravenclaw."

"And it was right to do so," Neville said as he came back through the door pulling a trolley. It was piled with large burlap bags. "What have we got here, Terrwyn?"

She scanned the bags and grinned. She'd filled many of these in her life. "Dung sacks, professor." She walked to the trolley and began sorting through the bags. "Green, Green, Snout, Horn, Ball," –she paused and raised and eyebrow at Neville- "Vipertooth?"

He smiled wide. "Ten points. Yes, Vipertooth. It's for the NEWT students."

"They know how dangerous it is?"

"They will after they write five sheets on it." He patted her shoulder. "It is _The _best venomous tentacula fertilizer there is. They just love it." Terrwyn saw Tiresias shake his head; the love of plants seemed to have skipped a generation. "The Snout goes under the benches for tomorrow's assignment. The rest goes in the back. Let's get to it."

_My Dearest Luna,_

_When you're right, you're right, my love. Ty met Terrwyn Pucey for the first time tonight, and he volunteered immediately to help her fit in. Even though he's sixteen and she's eleven, their age difference wasn't very apparent. She's amazing, my love, definitely the most mature first year student I've ever had._

Luna sat back and laughed to herself. _Of course she is, Neville my darling. She grew up around adults. I don't think she's been around her age group much, if at all._ She looked back down at the letter.

_By the time we were done with sorting the delivery from the reserve they were chatting and laughing and carrying on like they'd know each other their whole lives. They stayed in greenhouse one for hours after. I had to hurry them out at half nine so they wouldn't break curfew. These next three years will be very interesting with the two of them here._

_I see what you meant about their natural affinity. Ty was grinning like mad as we walked back to Gryffindor tower after escorting Terrwyn to the Ravenclaw door. He was jabbering on about how he was going to make sure she didn't have some of the problems he and the Weasley brood had. I had to stifle a laugh when he said, "And Dad, she's going to be a real heartbreaker, too. Did you see how pretty she is? And she's only eleven!" He's smitten. The best part is that they'll be friends, real friends, like you and I were._

Luna nodded and drew her hand lovingly down the page. _Yes, and that changed and grew for us. It will, in time, for them too, my love._

_I always doubted Sibyll, but it seems what you saw in her mind when she met Ty was correct, even if she didn't know it at the time. It still amazes me that she can be so oblivious to her real talent, but now I know why Dumbledore kept her around. When she's hot, you know, really got her power flowing, the woman glows in the dark!_

_Expect an excited letter from our son._

_Your husband and forever friend,_

_Neville_

Extras

Part 2

An Economy of Scales:

Dragon Keeping in the new age

A primer in the operation of a reserve

By Charlie Weasley

Welcome, new Dragon Friend. After the great treaty of 2003, wherein the trading of dragon products was severely limited, the Dragon Friends moved into the dominant position in the world of dragon keeping. With the establishment of the International Dragon Reserve (IDR) in northern Canada, and the preservation and establishment of the smaller reserves in Wales, Tibet, Turkey, and Scotland (we're working on the Romanians), the trade in legitimate and legal dragon products commenced. This trade supports the International Dragon Federation (IDF) and the individual reserves.

Dragon Keeping is an expensive endeavor. Each full grown dragon consumes three to five large animals per week. Multiply that by the population of even a small reserve like the Wales Dragon Reserve (WDR) and a substantial deficit is generated. To offset this, certified and stamped dragon products are produced by the reserves. A black market in stolen and wild harvested dragon products sprang up almost immediately, however the Dragon Friends responded to it with a marshal corps that defends the reserves, investigates unauthorized interference in the wild population, and polices the trade in dragon products.

At three galleons per bag on average, the dung trade accounts for fifty to sixty percent of revenue. The Kind also shed skin and whiskers twice a year; when The Friends found a way to preserve and make supple the shed skin, it killed the illegal trade in dragon skins overnight. The black market price for dragon skin was twenty to thirty galleons per square yard, whereas certified dragon skin goes for ten. Supplized dragon skin accounts for thirty-five to forty percent of revenue. Dragon heartstring, a long-sought component in wand making, has been supplanted with dragon whisker. At ten galleons per whisker, this accounts for five to seven percent of revenue on average. It is a small percentage however this was our greatest triumph, as the primary reason for the slaughter of the Kind has been eliminated.

Dragon Blood, a chief component in a wide variety of potions, was the hardest product to deal with. After much discussion in the council, the Kind decided to allow limited collection. At the reserves, volunteers among the Kind allow a painless collection of a few pints of blood every few months. On average ten to twelve gallons of blood are produced at the WDR each month. At one hundred galleons per pint this accounts for approximately fifteen percent of revenue. The remainder of revenue comes from scales, eight percent, and Dragon Fire services (destruction of dark objects). Currently the WDR is in a position of relative stability. We run a small surplus that is directed in into a fund that will support us should hard times fall, and, if it reaches two years' operating expenses, the remainder will be used to buy adjacent Muggle land and expand the reserve.

We are not a zoo. We don't do tours.

As of this writing the WDR has a small but growing population of ninety-five: thirty-five bulls, thirty-five dragoness, and twenty-five chicks and adolescents. The Kind could easily overpopulate our little reserve if they chose, but they do not. The dragoness can conceive at will for the five days after a mating flight, but they keep their own council on who is to have a chick next. The Dilys Banon is the final arbiter.

Procuring feed stock is another challenge. Because we must buy from the Muggle population it became necessary to form the front cooperation, Draconis Major. This false front for the reserve purchases stock in bulk on the open market. The bi-monthly purchase of twenty five steers, fifty sheep, fifty goats, and twenty reindeer are shipped into Shrewsbury, and then they are picked up by the team of Friends trained as drivers in our lorries. From there they are driven to Mawddwy. A small farm outside the village acts as our delivery point, stock yard, and vehicle storage facility. Most of the stock is kept there, and we portkey animals as needed to the reserve. The reserve grounds produce enough rabbits for the chicks.

The Dragon Friends are paid a small salary relative to the general wizarding population. This is offset, however, by the fact that most of us live at the reserves, and we pay nothing for room and board. We are chosen to be Dragon Friends because of our dedication and trustworthiness, not for our ambition to wealth. The expenditures on the employee population of the reserves are overseen by the council. Everyone is paid equally after the probationary period, and everyone has similar living accommodations. The Dragon Friends are a group of peers, and we intend to keep it that way.

In Wales and Scotland the Council of the Friends does answer (with a bit of humor) to the British Ministry of Magic, and through it, the Queen. Her Majesty, His Royal Highness Prince Phillip, His Royal Highness Prince Charles, and His Royal Highness Prince William are the four Muggles that have been allowed onto the reserve. Her Majesty especially was impressed and delighted with our success. The grounds of the reserve were given over to the Dragon Friends by Her Majesty's father, His Royal Highness King George the Sixth. An avid dragon lover himself, His Royal Highness gave into our care a large portion of the Royal estate in Wales. Her Majesty thoroughly enjoys her yearly inspection, and has continued the royal family's patronage, and her son and grandson are committed to our success as well.

The Dragon Friends are determined to end the killing of the Kind for any reason. To that end we have employed a marshal corps. This grew from an incident at the WDR; four eggs went missing and we called upon the Ministry for help. It arrived in the form of two special agents who took the mark and became Friends themselves. After they solved the crime and brought the perpetrators to justice, the council and the Dilys Banon decided they should be offered the permanent position of marshals. The other reserves were told of this development, and they too brought marshals of their own into the circle of Friends. There are two at the WDR (the same couple who originally accepted) and two at each of the smaller reserves. At the IDR there are ten. These marshals are paid as any other Dragon Friend, however they have a small budget for travel should they need to go into the field on an investigation. They are also overseen by, and an integral part of, the council.

This is how we, the Dragon Friends, have managed our duties and charges for the last fifty years. Our economy seems stable, and we are growing the population of the Kind. The ministry does not interfere with the council, and we have only been called upon once to assist them in a difficulty (the escaped prisoner from Gringotts in Nineteen-Ninety-Eight). With perseverance and dedication we intend to continue caring for the Kind into the foreseeable future.

In service to Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, and Asgre the Dilys Banon,

Charlie Weasley, Dragon Friend

The Welsh

Dilys This name means "perfect" or "true." **Pronunciation:** (DIL iss)

Banon This name means queen **pronounced** as BahNahN

Asgre means – heart **Pronunciation:** AS-grÉ

Kaddyl no specific meaning Pronunciation: Ka-thill

Owena means –born to nobility; young warrior **Pronunciation:** O-ən-a

**Terrwyn** The Welsh name Terrwyn means - valiant **Pronunciation:** (TER wyn)

**HEDDWYN** The Welsh name Hedwyn means - friend of peace and blessings Derived from the Welsh elements _hedd_ "peace" and _gwyn_ "white, fair, blessed". **Pronunciation:** (HETH win)

Aldwyn means – Old friend **Pronunciation:** ALD win

Meudwen means – Blessed hermit **Pronunciation:** MEED wen

Tegwedd **Meaning:** Fair appearance **Pronunciation:** TEG weth

Urien **Meaning:** Privileged birth **Pronunciation:** yoo REE un

Llyn Meaning: Lake Pronunciation: Thin

Arneg Fach A mountain in Snowdonia Pronunciation: A'renig Vax


End file.
